The Red Sox are staying at Fenway for the long-haul
Red Sox Nation won’t be needing to worry about watching games in a new ballpark anytime soon. While there isn’t much to report on the labor front of the sport, we at least heard from Principal Owner John Henry on the state of things around Fenway Park. America’s oldest ballpark is here to stay and ownership has zero desire to move out.
Henry spoke to Jen McCaffrey and Chad Jennings of The Athletic recently and the focus of the conversation was Fenway Park. Boston’s big boss made it clear that while they once thought that Fenway had an expiration date, the annual upgrades and maintenance have changed their mindset and now it’s all about preservation.
"“Fenway Park has only gotten better over the years,” Red Sox principal owner John Henry said. “We have taken exhaustive efforts over the past 20 years and spent several hundred million dollars to make Fenway viable for future generations to enjoy. There is no design nor desire to play anywhere else. With the annual improvements we make each offseason, it just gets more exciting every year to go to work there. We deeply feel its history every day.”"
Prior to Henry and the rest of FSG buying the club back in 2002, there was an effort being made to move the Red Sox into a fancy new ballpark. Thankfully that never happened as fans revolted against the idea and Fenway Sports Group dedicated themselves to revitalizing the historic site.
The piece in The Athletic nails it perfectly when describing why fans flock to Fenway year after year, it’s for the connection to the past. While there may be some fresh paint and some 21st-century amenities, it’s still the very place where names such as Ted Williams, Cy Young, Pedro Martinez, and the beloved Jerry Remy all plied their trade.
There is so much history in the city of Boston and for more than 100 years Fenway has not only written its own chapter but continues to amend it. Every year when my wife and I make our trek to the city my excitement grows as game day approaches.
Of course, I can’t wait to see the Red Sox do what they do best, but that excitement is almost equally matched to seeing Fenway once again. Years ago my parents bought a brick that is located at the Park and has our initials etched into it. Finding it for the first time gave me chills. Seeing my family’s name as part of my favorite place in the world, it’s beautiful.
"“It wasn’t, for us, whether we should stay at Fenway Park … or build a new ballpark in the Seaport,” Red Sox chairman Tom Werner said. “It was, how do we make Fenway Park a cathedral, and how do we take advantage of the footprint we have and create more opportunities for fans to see the game?”"
Again, it may not seem like some earth-shattering news but to those that love Fenway Park, and that should be all of Red Sox Nation, this allows us a sigh of relief. Teams are always looking for ways to modernize and have the biggest and best stadiums, but not the Red Sox. I don’t always agree with the way that FSG runs things but their dedication to bringing Fenway from 1912 to 2022 is well appreciated.
Sitting in the same seats as generations of Red Sox fans had before you. Watching a baseball bounce off the Green Monster just as it had for some of the franchise’s greats decades and deceased before. The smell of the grass and the sound of the vendors making their way up and down the aisles. Fenway Park is and always will be the greatest place to watch a baseball game, and thanks to FSG, that won’t be changing anytime soon.