Surprise, Surprise – Another Round Of “Improvements’’ To Fenway Park Up Ahead
I thought the era of Fenway Park improvements ended last year when ballpark restoration guru Janet Marie Smith was sent packing back to Baltimore.
Guess I was wrong.
It looks like John Henry’s Sox ownership group have dreamed up another round of “fixes’’ to the 1912 ballpark – which, not coincidentally, will likely bring put more cash into team coffers as well.
That’s not faulting the brilliant work Smith did - or the more than $100 million Henry, Tom Werner and the team’s other owners have pumped into the antique ballpark over the past decade as well. The team got more high-priced seats and more space for inside-the-ballpark ads, while the public got back a ballpark that is pleasant to visit and a vast upgrade from years past.
In that spirit, the current upgrades include a mix of structural work and new additions that should bolster the front-office’s money making capabilities.
Judging from what happened this past season, they are going to need all the money they can get.
Let’s go some notes on the upcoming work the Sox just sent to their Fenway neighbors, which sum up things nicely. The bullets below are direct quotes from the memo, hot off the team presses.
On tap are:
· Right field seating bowl repair
· New Centerfield scoreboards
· Concourse repair, Life Safety Improvements and Utility Upgrades
- Scoreboard renovations:
· The current Bank of America scoreboard will be reconfigured with a videoboard flanked by two digital scoreboards which traditionally listed pitchers statistics and lineups (and we plan to continue to). A sponsor will now be located above the new videoboard, and will be similar in design to the Budweiser and Cumberland Farms advertisement.
· The Main scoreboard in centerfield will be updated to a High Definition scoreboard in nearly the same envelope as the current scoreboard.
· A digital scoreboard will be constructed between the Dunkin Donuts and Ford sign behind the bleachers in center/rightfield. This will hold messages and notifications.
· Because of these updates in technology to the scoreboards, the control room will also undergo renovations in order to accommodate the upgrades.