Introduction

Three of Stadium Journey’s founders live in Boston, and two decided to take a visit to Fenway – Jonah was born in the area and has a long history with the Red Sox and Fenway, but Dan has only lived in the area for 4 years and had never been to the park.  We thought it would be interesting to give you a dual perspective on one of the most famous ballparks in the world – the veteran perspective, and the newcomer’s perspective.

Review by Dan Seward, Stadium Journey Co-Founder

FANFARE SCORE – 27

Food & Beverage: 3

Fenway’s food selection is pretty standard.  You can get Fenway Franks, sausage, soft pretzels, peanuts, cracker jack, ice cream, huge sodas, and beer for highly inflated prices.  At the beginning of the game, by the gates, the lines can get pretty long for food, but once things are underway it’s not a huge chore to get yourself something to eat.  Clam chowder is the standout regional offering.

On cold nights, you can purchase a steaming Dunkin Donuts hot chocolate at your seat, which is a nice touch.  There’s a good variety of beer on tap, and an upper-deck bar with TVs and no good view of the field, for those who don’t mind going to a stadium but not actually watching the game.

Food is priced oddly – for example, a Fenway Frank runs $4.60.  You’ll never see that change; when you fork over a five dollar bill, the vendor will pocket the change automatically.

Atmosphere: 5

This is an amazing stadium, and it says something for the management that official capacity remains just over 36,000.  With the enthusiasm of Sox fans, they could probably sell twice as many tickets without significantly lowering prices, but as of now there are no plans for any notable expansion.  The result of this conservational approach is a ballpark that feels like a step back in time.  From the noticeably rundown facilities (which are well-maintained, simply old), to the banners, manual scoreboard, and quirky layout, you’ll really feel as though you could be in the place where MLB was born.  Because the park is always full of fervent fans, even during “meaningless” games just before the post-season, every single game at Fenway feels as though the outcome really matters.  This is an easy place to get swept up by the sport of baseball.

At least some of the concessions around the field are outdoors, meaning that you’ll often look up and see the sky (or the bottom of the bleachers) as you wait in line.  Boston is a densely-packed city and Fenway is no exception, but this all just works to enhance the one-of-a-kind time traveler’s vibe.

Sweet Caroline during the middle of the 8^th is a crowd favorite, and the irritating strains of Neil Diamond will be streaking through your head days after your visit to Fenway.

Neighborhood: 5

Fenway has the very pleasant distinction of being embedded in a geographically confined, yet worldly city.  What this means is that you can walk 1-2 miles in any direction from the park and have access to essentially any sort of Boston area entertainment, any cuisine you could imagine.  Just north across the Charles River is Cambridge, the east coast corollary to the People’s Republic of Berkeley, home to Harvard and MIT.  Each of these schools is worth visiting, with their own standout cultures and interesting museums.  Cambridge notably offers a wide array of quirky, high-quality eateries.

Heading east along Commonwealth Ave or Beacon St will bring you to the beautiful Public Garden and Boston Common, the city’s largest green space.  Just beyond the parks is the heart of downtown, the New England Aquarium, and the historic North End.  If you have a day to kill, most tourists take the time to walk the Freedom Trail, which hits colonial American highlights and brings out Boston’s historic flair.  The Trail ends at the USS Constitution, an old warship still in commission and staffed by sailors in period dress.

Just south of Fenway is the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s best general-purpose art museum.  If you’re feeling adventurous, decipher the T routes and head down into Jamaica Plain for a Sam Adams Brewery tour.  Hey, what’s better than free beer?

There really is a lot to do in Boston and a pretty good chunk of it is within a 30-45 minute walk from Fenway Park.

Boca Grande Taqueria

Located at 648 Beacon Street, Boca Grande is, simply put, an amazing burrito bar.  There’s nothing critical to know but that the food is dirt cheap, filling, and relatively tasty.  Expect bad counter service and order mistakes.  The reason you’re reading about it is the cheapness, as you can eat a VERY full meal for about $5 ($7 with authentic horchata), which stands in stark contrast to Fenway Park itself.  This is a great stop for the budget-conscious visitor.

Fans: 3

The fans at Fenway are loud, enthused, and they are always present.  These are all pluses, and most of the attendees are there to have a good time.  Most fans – even the substantial population of bandwagoners – are knowledgeable about the sport, their team, have favorite players, and can speak with authority on the past decade of Red Sox baseball.  However, there’s an element of crazy in the air.  Don’t ever make the mistake of letting these people know you’re rooting for another team.  We know of someone who had his childhood baseball glove stolen off of his seat by a fan who realized this person was rooting for the opposite team.  If you’re an outsider, you will not be welcomed, and in fact may be enthusiastically encouraged to leave.  Leave your team’s jersey at home.

Sox fans pride themselves on being the “best” fans in the world, so take care not to challenge this assertion.  Management is more than happy to cater to this belief.  The hyper-fandom can feel a little bit contrived to the newcomer.

“The Red Sox appreciate the continued support of the best fans in baseball”

Boston itself is not known for its politeness, so don’t expect anything out of the ordinary.

Keep in mind that this is the perspective of someone who’s not really a Red Sox fan.  If you ARE a Red Sox fan, Fenway is your Mecca, and the fans are your fellow pilgrims.  You will find instant and deep-seated camaraderie, as long as you don’t mind being jostled, cut in line, or otherwise abused by your newfound friends.

Access: 3

Driving to Fenway is really inadvisable.  Parking is $30-40+ and you will spend a significant amount of time waiting to get out of your car.  You will spend even more time in your car as you try to leave the vicinity.

Subway (T) access is pretty good, depending on where you’re coming from.  Two Green line stop are equidistant, within a short walk of the park.  The MBTA maps are somewhat helpful as you plan your route.  Buses in Boston are mostly reliable, but the routes are usually confusing.  Here are the transit stops just near Fenway.  You can find a cab after a short wait, and for the ladies there are rickshaws pedaled by fit young men.

If you are flying in for the game, take the silver line tram from Logan to South Station, the red line train to Park Street, and the Green line D train to the Yawkey or Fenway stops.

Bathrooms at Fenway can be crowded, especially the women’s room.  The men’s room gets busy, but as is typical, moves pretty quickly.  There aren’t really enough sinks for hand washing.  In terms of wheelchair access, Fenway is tightly packed and winding, so while it must technically be up to code, it would be a challenging place to visit.

Plan to wait for the bathrrom at Fenway

Return on Investment: 4

Attending Fenway is a great experience, highly recommended to anybody.  But it’s not cheap.  The Red Sox’s average ticket price, at just over $40, is the highest in the Bigs.  Standing room seats can be had for $30 or so, but if you’re the sucker who bought standing room seats during an important or weekend game, you’re going to have a hard time seeing the game and may end up watching on a TV screen in the back part of the stadium, away from the field.  As an unfortunate consequence of the age of the stadium, there are a lot of obstructed view seats because support pillars for the upper deck are built right into the lower seats.

If you’re willing to shell out a lot of money, you will get one of the best baseball experiences available in America.  But you have to spend big to ensure that it’s all that it can be.

Standing Room Only at Fenway

Extra Points: 5

Fenway is a living piece of baseball history.  It’s a really fun, interesting, and unique place to watch a baseball game.  The atmosphere is electric (occasionally jolting). The park is wonderfully situated so as to give access to a whole slew of pre- and post-game activities.  The Green Monster is a sports icon. There are a myriad of hidden treasures and gems to be found in the area – you could spend a week entertaining yourself, using Fenway as a home base.

Final Thoughts:

This is the most expensive ballpark to attend, but it’s also one of the most memorable.  For any true baseball fan, a trip to Fenway is really a must.  A sense of history and love for the game of baseball permeates the stadium.  Boston is busy enough and interesting enough that it makes for a pretty good one-stop vacation on a long weekend, or a week off.  All in all, highly recommended.

Outside Historic Fenway Park

Review by Jonah Berman, Stadium Journey Co-Founder

Fenway. The name alone is imbued with an incredible mix of history, heartache and, at long last, success. Built in 1912, it is currently the oldest Major League ballpark in operation, narrowly besting Wrigley Field by two years. Despite its age (and in some ways, because of it), it remains one of the best places in the country to watch a game.

The current ownership team of John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino has made a commitment to continual improvements of the park during every-off season, and their efforts have paid off as Fenway has added both new seats and amenities that enhance the fan experience further each year.

FANFARE Score: 32

Food & Beverage: 3

Fenway offers your standard ballpark fare plus a few local specialties. Inside the park, you’ll find that nothing comes cheap. A Fenway Frank, the old standby, goes for $4.60, while a foot long will run you just a bit more at $5.10. Italian Sausage can be had for just a bit more than a dog, and you can additionally find pizza, burgers, nachos, popcorn, and peanuts. If you’re going to the game with children, the Kid’s Value Meal might be your best bet; for $5.10 you’ll get a hot dog, small soda, plus cotton candy.

In terms of local options, there’s nothing like a cup of Legal Seafoods Clam Chowder for those April night games or October playoff games that can see temperatures in the 40s, and you can wash it down with a Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. Fried dough is also available for those looking for a sweet snack.

Outside the stadium, the area along Yawkey Way between Brookline Avenue and Van Ness Streets is closed to traffic beginning two hours before the game, and fans with tickets can choose from a good variety of food stands.  “El Tiante,” named after Sox legend Luis Tiant, offers a tasty Cuban sandwich, and Tiant himself occasionally makes appearances to sign autographs.

For beer drinkers, you’ll find a decent mix of options, including Miller Lite, Bud, Bud Light, Heineken and Stella Artois. “Premium” beers, which will cost you .50 more than your regular choices, include Harp, Guinness, Smithwick’s, Blue Moon, and of course Sam Adams.

Atmosphere: 5

This is where Fenway really shines. Coming up the ramp and seeing the dominating presence of the Green Monster reminds you that you’re in a ballpark like no other.  The history simply permeates the air in Fenway. From the lone red seat in a sea of green in the bleachers to the retired numbers hanging over right field, you’re constantly reminded that you’re a witness to baseball past and present while in this venue. (The red seat marks the longest home run ever measured within Fenway Park, hit by Ted Williams and coming in at 502 feet).

Retired Numbers (Doerr, Cronin, Pesky, Yastrzemski, Williams, and Rice)- not pictured: Fisk & Robinson

In addition, new Fenway traditions like the singing of “Sweet Caroline” in the middle of the eighth inning serve to create an intimate atmosphere. While some purists turn their nose at this anthem, which became a staple in 2002, you’ll find most fans standing and belting it out as if Fenway were their own personal karaoke stage. Fenway’s capacity, at 36,108, is at the low-end of what most stadiums hold, meaning that no fan ever feels too far away from the action.  And Fenway continues to utilize the large, hand operated scoreboard that runs along the bottom of the Monster in left-field, famous for, among other things, Manny Ramirez using the area behind the scoreboard for between- inning pee breaks and cell phone calls.  And every Red Sox win is capped off with the Standelles’ Boston anthem “Dirty Water” blaring over the PA system.

Neighborhood: 5

The area around Fenway is home to a multitude of bars and restaurants that provide endless entertainment both before and after the game. Whether you’re looking for a simple beer before entering the gates, a full-fledged meal, or music and dancing into the wee hours, you can find it within walking distance from the park.

Perhaps the most renowned locale in proximity to Fenway is the Cask n’ Flagon, located at the corner of Brookline Avenue and Lansdowne Street. The Cask boasts proudly above the entrance that it was voted the #2 baseball bar in America by ESPN. While there’s nothing particularly remarkable about the Cask once you’re inside, you will find that lines start forming about 2 hours before the first pitch, so if you plan to go, either get there early or be ready to wait. You’ll find plenty of flat-screens located throughout the establishment as well as about 12 beers on tap at any given time, including the Sam Adams seasonal variety. The food is decent quality bar fare, with a range of sandwiches and burgers in the $9-$12 range, including the “Papelbomb,” a steak-tip sandwich that will cost you $10.99. The bar underwent renovations recently and some have complained that the bar has lost its “character” – but what this means is that it is now cleaner and more spacious. For those looking for post-game entertainment, they’ve opened a nightclub in the back with live music called “Oliver’s.”

Cask n Flagon

Boston Beer Works, located at 61 Brookline Avenue, across from Yawkey Way, is a haven for the beer drinker looking to escape the typical ballpark swill and try something local. Beerworks brews more then 50 different varieties, and offers cleverly named beers such as “Back Bay IPA,” “Beantown Nut Brown Ale,” and “Boston Garden Golden.” I’ve yet to be disappointed by any of their concoctions, and the IPA is a personal favorite. Their menu goes beyond traditional bar food, offering such delectables as Fried Pickles for $6.95 (not for you dieters out there) and a Grilled Red Snapper Sandwich. They’ve also got a great variety of salads, and offer the traditional New England Lobster Roll. Most definitely a great option for pre or post game snacking.

Boston Beer Works

The Bleacher Bar, built underneath center field, is another venue worth visiting where you can actually watch the game through a one-way, garage-door sized window in center field. Seating by the window is limited though, so get there early. Lansdowne Street is home to the newly opened House of Blues as well as Tequila Rain, a dance club that gets hopping after games.

Fans: 5

Many longtime season-ticket holders have complained about the “pink-hat” crowd that you see more and more of at Fenway in recent years. “Pink hat” is specifically a jab at female fans, proudly wearing their pink Red Sox caps – caps that you could never find before, say, 2000 – to Fenway. But more generally, it refers to the type of fan who shows up in the third inning and leaves in the seventh, and couldn’t explain the infield fly rule to you. Despite these grumblings, I maintain that the Fenway faithful are some of the most passionate, committed and knowledgeable fans in the business.

It goes without saying what Red Sox fans went through from 1918-2004, and yes, the agony and heartache being gone has changed the face of Red Sox nation. But the fans are as obsessive and zealous as ever, and at times you could be fooled into thinking they’ve forgotten about the two world championships in the past six years. While Sox fans are demanding and certainly can have a “what have you done for me lately” attitude at times, they stand by their players, as anyone who witnessed the scene at Fenway during David Ortiz’ 2009 struggles can attest to. Most fans at Fenway understand and respect the team’s history. Visiting fans may be confused when they hear Kevin Youkilis being booed as he comes up to bat (they’re not booing: it’s “Youuuuuuuuk….”)

Access: 4

I have one suggestion about driving to Fenway: don’t do it. Traffic is heavy on game days from all directions, and parking will cost you at least $30. While you can find metered spots on the outskirts of the Fenway neighborhood if you’re willing to walk a bit, even this is a risky proposition, as often you’ll find the closest metered spot ends up being a 20-30 minute walk. Fortunately, there are a multitude of public transportation options to get you to the park. The subway (affectionately known as the “T” in Boston), bus and commuter rail will all get you to Fenway’s doorstep for a cheap fare. On the Green Line, the Kenmore and Fenway stops are equidistant from the park. Visit www.mbta.com for schedules.  If it’s a nice day and you want a Boston experience, take a Pedi-Cab from downtown: http://www.bostonpedicab.com/. Tip: if you’re traveling on the MBTA and using a “Charlie Card” (your fare card), add your return fare before the game. If you forget, you’ll be stuck in line and battling crowds to recharge your card. Avoid the hassle and do it beforehand.

Bathrooms at Fenway are passable. They’re generally easy to find no matter where your seats are, and the facilities, while not sparkling, are what they are: they let you do your business and get on with it. As is the standard at most parks, the ladies rooms will always have a line between innings. If you don’t mind missing a little bit of the action, your best bet is to go while the Sox are at bat.

Return on Investment: 5

As the old adage goes, you pay for what you get. Yes, Fenway is expensive. There is no such thing as a cheap seat, and if there is, a scalper will have bought it and sell it to you for twice its face value. But here’s the thing: it’s worth it. Experiencing a game at Fenway may not be something you can make a part of your regular budget, but if you make the investment, you won’t be disappointed. Not only do you get to experience baseball at one of the game’s most storied parks, but more often than not, you’re going to see quality on the field, as the Sox have had a great run of success over the past several years. Sometimes it’s worth spending an extra buck or two to have that unique experience. The true baseball fan will be quite pleased with the overall bang for the buck at Fenway.

Extra Points: 5

Fenway has a lot of tangibles that make it a great place for baseball. But it’s the intangibles that earn it 5 extra points here. The simple aura of the place is unmatched. To get the full experience, take a Fenway tour for $12 ($20 on game day, with field and batting practice access) and go to the game afterwards. Grab some warning track dirt (but don’t let the tour guide see you) as a keepsake.

2007 Red Sox Championship Banner

Final Thoughts:

Fenway is not perfect. There are some obstructed view seats, some funny angles, and the park can show its age in places. But perfection is rarely achieved in baseball. Fenway comes pretty darn close. If you haven’t been, you’re depriving yourself a classic baseball experience. Get yourself there, and soon.