Locals Support New Sox Owners' Fenway Plans

BOSTON-A group of local activists here who have lobbied for the Red Sox to remain at Fenway Park, one of the oldest ballparks in the country, are thrilled with the potential new owners of the baseball team–despite the fact that Major League Baseball still has to approve the deal and then the new owners have to actually implement their plan to renovate one of the oldest ballparks in the country.

“This group has publicly stated its desire to keep the team at Fenway Park,” Dan Wilson, president of Save Fenway Park, says in a released statement. “They have even developed a workable renovation plan. Save Fenway Park welcomes the new owners and looks forward to working with them to make the dream of a renovated Fenway Park a reality.”

The renovation plan put forth by the new owners–John Henry as well as Tom Werner, a TV producer, former US Senator George Mitchell, Larry Lucchino, Les Otten, Ben Cammarata, Ed Eskandarian, Arthur Nicholas, Marty Trust and the New York Times Company–involves creating nearly 10,000 additional seats and more than one million sf compared with the current 450,000 sf. There would be 98 luxury boxes in the renovated stadium compared with the current 44 and 5,000 club seats compared with the current 606. The team would not have to be moved during the estimated 36 months of construction.

“When they presented the renovation pan to the public, they got very good reviews,” Erika Tarlin, a board member of Save Fenway Park, tells GlobeSt.com. “But everyone now keeps saying how will they get this done. We’ve shown it can be done.”

Tarlin notes that the main complaints that people have about Fenway Park is that it is not comfortable, but she contends that the plan has demonstrated that the park does not have to be destroyed to increase the level of comfort for the fans. “It is economically feasible and physically possible,” she says. “[The new owners] will have to work with a lot of people.” But Tarlin acknowledges that, “It’s a huge undertaking.”