Fenway Park’s Historic Status Causes Delays

You won’t find another person who loves Fenway Park more than I do. It is the greatest sports venue anywhere and has more character than most other stadiums combined. It has stood for nearly 100 years and has housed billions of sports fans for baseball, football, soccer and hockey games. It is an iconic symbol of Boston and the Boston sports landscape and still gives me chills each and every time I walk into the park on a game day. That being said, there are many challenges and issues with having a century old landmark. (more after the jump)

Take this off-season for example. The Boston Red Sox management wanted to move in the right-field fence to expand the amount of space pitchers have in the bullpen. Right now, the bullpen is barely big enough to hold the Sox relievers and when 2 pitchers want to warm-up at the same time, they practically touch when they deliver a pitch. It is the smallest in baseball, so why not expand it? In most any other park in baseball, all the team would need to do was get the permits from the city and hire a contractor, but not in Boston.

Fenway Park is a historic landmark. It protects the park and ensures that the hallowed walls are preserved, but it also creates extra red-tape and restrictions when renovations are necessary. Case-in-point: the bullpens. The Red Sox had planned to expand the ‘pens to give their relievers room to breathe and well, warm-up, but the historic society created delays and the project had to be shelved for this off-season. Once again, pitchers will need to sit on top of each other for the entire 2011 season because of Fenway Park’s status with the state.

There is no solution to this issue except just to deal with it. It is these scenarios however, that show the dark side of an older venue. The Red Sox management team has done a masterful job maintaining the integrity of the park while making necessary renovations over the last several years. From the more obvious (seats on top of the monster) to the less obvious (re-concreting – if that is a word – of the infield grandstand seating area), the park has had a face-lift without losing any character or charm. All of those renovations were done under the watchful eye of everyone in Boston, which is not an easy feat.

The wonderful thing about this management team and Fenway Park is that the improvements will continue, even though their original remodel plan is nearing its end. They will fight for changes, even if it takes another year. By continuing to invest in the park, it will ensure that the players and fans can continue to call Fenway home for years to come.