New Parks Great, But They’re Not Fenway
I have just spent five days in the best new baseball stadiums in America. Through a nifty quirk of scheduling, this Red Sox tour has taken me from Jacobs Field in Cleveland to Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
My eyes have seen the glory of these state-of-the-art, modern-yetold-timey baseball theaters. My butt has nestled into the wide seats. My legs have stretched far toward the row in front of me. I have tasted foods never before offered at ballgames. In five days I have witnessed almost 200,000 happy baseball fans, filing in and out of ballparks without a trace of cramp, grime or inconvenience.
And so now what else is there to say other than … Save Fenway Park?
Call me a nitwit. Call me a man from the wrong century. Call me someone who still likes to ride trains even though airplanes are so much faster. Call me a cab and lock me away. I do not want to bear witness to the final days of Fenway Park.
It’s not easy to hold one’s ground against the avalanche of contrary evidence. Jacobs Field and Camden Yards truly are crown jewels on the urban landscape. They are baseballonly parks, artfully carved into old neighborhoods, made to look as if they’ve always been there. They offer the asymmetry of old Fenway. They are hitter-friendly, with giant scoreboards, kiddie playgrounds and row elevation that allows your 7-year-old son to see over the head of the man in front of him.
Save Fenway.
Jacobs Field and Camden Yards offer breathtaking views of city skylines. They’re made of exposed steel and brick. They offer acres of horizontal space. They’ve got adorable nooks and crannies. They’ve got Dove Bar stands, luxury suites, inhouse hospitality rooms and restaurants. They offer spacious walkways where fans can peer homeward from beyond the outfield grandstands. They’ve got picnic pavilions.
In Camden Yards and Jacobs Field, there are no poles to impede your view. The walls of the men’s rooms are not lined with those disgusting, unsanitary troughs. There is no century-old flattened gum on the ramps that lead to the grandstand.
Save Fenway.
The new ballparks always are full. The Orioles drew more than 3.5 million in their first two full seasons at Camden. There is a sign at the Baltimore ticket window that says standing room sales are limited to four per customer. Last week in Cleveland, the Tribe sold the ticket that guaranteed them a team attendance record. Soon the Indians expect to announce that they are sold out for the rest of the 1995 season. Every game a sellout. Cleveland. These new parks give the ballclubs a license to print money and assure that the Indians and Orioles can compete for the top talents.
The new parks are spacious yet intimate. They have real grass. They borrow gracefully from Fenway Park, Ebbets Field, Shibe Park, Crosley Field, Forbes Field, Wrigley Field and the Polo Grounds. They are near subway lines and major highways, surrounded by ample parking.
Bill Lee once said that Fenway Park is a religious shrine where people go to worship. Now it turns out that Camden Yards might be baseball’s holy ground. Pope John Paul II will say Mass at the Oriole park Oct. 8. I am not making this up.
The Red Sox have their plan. Driven by the dollars of luxury boxes, they want to build their next park on the Summer Street site and host the 2001 All-Star Game in the new yard. Sox vice president John Buckley made a pilgrimage to Cleveland last week to witness firsthand the miracle of Jacobs Field.
So how come we’re not hearing the same stuff in Chicago, where the Cubs continue to play in a quaint, old, downtown park. Why do we have to follow Baltimore and Cleveland? Why can’t we save Fenway?
Jacobs is great. And Camden might be even better. But I’m not going to let go easily.
Fenway has poles, gross bathrooms, no parking, cramped seating and a dearth of luxury boxes. It has antiquated facilities for fans, players and media. But it’s still the most beautiful ballpark in the world and it’ll always be the place where our grandfathers watched games. It’ll always be home. Save Fenway.