Posted by Jason on 2/3/2003, 12:53 am, in reply to "Fenway Park" Fenway is a great place to see a game, IF you have a seat that is in the top 25%. Otherwise, it's an overall subpar experience. Run down stadium, cramped, dingy, cheap seats that don't face the action, etc, etc. (been there twice) I'm sure Boston could build a new park designed in the spirit on Fenway. This new park could probably improve on the overall fan experience in every way while still maintaining the overall intimacy of Fenway. If the Boston management builds a stadium with the sightlines of the average fan in mind, this is VERY possible. A perfect example is Comerica Park in Detroit. While the best seats in Tiger Stadium put you about as close to the action as anywhere in modern baseball, too many seats were either too distant or featured a restricted view. Comerica Park doesn't feature a bad seat in the entire building and the best seats in CoPa compare pretty well with the best at the old Tiger Stadium. Of the oldest ballparks left in service and those recently retired, Fenway probably has the least potential. Wrigley has been continually improved and is still a decent overall experience. Tiger Stadium could have been renovated to remove the obstructed view seats and add luxury boxes, but that plan was never really practical. Yankee Stadium is basically a slightly larger and more modern Tiger Stadium. Eventually New Yorkers will realize that it makes more sense to build a brand new, state of the art facility than to sink money into a 70+ year old building. Boston fans need to realize the same thing. Fenway simply can't hold a candle to Wrigley. (At least in my mind, as I hold no bias towards either the Cubs or the Red Sox). Wrigley is pretty solidly designed ballpark, obviously after various improvements, some 80 years later. The same cannot be said of Fenway. It is one of those relics from a day gone past. Back from those days when a ballpark was squeezed into the city block that was available. While I still feel nostalgic about a day gone past, it is exactly that, a day gone past. All the old ballparks eventually will need to be retired, it's just the way it goes. Sure, I could see Fenway, Wrigley, Tiger Stadium, etc being declared historical landmarks. Still, they will all eventually go away as far as active MLB parks. I give Fenway and Yankee Stadium about 5 years, Wrigley will soldier on for a little longer than that. OK, I spent way too much time typing a message that very few people will ever read... so I'm done...
68.62.98.177
It's quite clear you haven't lived and died a Red Sox fan either, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to post that message. You'd be DEAD!
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