THE WEIRS TIMES & THE COCHECO TIMES, Thursday, July 7, 2011
13
cord. The team went on to finish first the next two seasons. When the Baltimore Ori-
by Mike Moffett Contributing Writer
A New Red Sox Park “If you build it, he
will come.” – Field of Dreams, 1989
If the Red Sox build a
new park, will the fans come?
Of course. Leaving aside, for the moment, the issue of Fen- way Park’s mythical sta- tus as an historic sports edifice, consider that in- variably a new stadium means a huge attendance increase. The record is clear. Considering that the
2010 Red Sox drew 3 mil- lion fans to a Fenway Park that holds only 36,000, then they could draw 4 million to a new park that holds 48,000. Maybe some of those seats could go for less than $50 and allow some less affluent fans to return to live Bo- Sox baseball action - while the team could make even more money. A win-win. But not only do new parks mean higher atten- dance and more revenue, they also mean more suc- cess on the field. Exam- ples abound. After the Toronto Blue
Jays moved into the Sky- Dome in 1990 they rou- tinely drew 4 million fans per season and won World Series titles in 1992 and 1993. 1995 was the Cleveland
Indians’ first full year in Jacobs Field. After eight straight losing seasons the Tribe drew 2.8 mil- lion fans and went to that year’s World Series for the first time since 1954. San Diego was a last
place team in 2003, when the Padres drew 2 million fans. They moved into Petco Park in 2004 and drew 3 million fans while compiling a winning re-
oles moved to Camden Yards in 1992, attendance sky-rocketed from 2.5 million to 3.6 million and the team had six straight winning seasons, finish- ing first as recently as 1997 – meaning they, like the Red Sox, can claim ex- actly one first place finish in the past 15 years. Yep, it’s true. The Sox
have only finished first once since 1995. Not the stuff of dynasties. Oh yeah. The Yankees moved into a new sta- dium in 2009 and won the World Series that same year. This is the 100th
about “hated Royals.” Most teams love to have the Royals come to visit.) Easy to get in. Easy to get out. Very comfortable. A fabulous venue. Earlier this year – May to be exact – I went to a
5th year
that the Red Sox have played at Fenway. 2012 will be a year of centennial celebrations. Fine. And then let’s PLEASE build a decent place for the team to play. I recently went to a Pa-
dres game at Petco, where the home team defeated the hated Kansas City Royals, 4-3. (Just kidding
Red Sox game at Fenway. My friend and I parked out of town and took the “T” into Boston, and then walked to the Park. Not real convenient. It was brisk and windy and I should have brought a coat – but that’s my fault. I didn’t fit in the seat, being 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds. But that’s noth- ing new. People of size can’t fit into most of Fen- way’s seats, even if they do spend $80 or more for the privilege. The libations and hot dogs were over- priced, but that’s true ev- erywhere. The Sox lost the game to the Los Angeles Angels by a score of 11-0. Not the best experience. But it confirmed my
opinion that the team needs a new home. The team has an opportunity here after 2012 - to cre- ate the greatest park ever,
building on the experi- ences of all those who cre- ated parks in almost every other city. Keep a version of the Green Monster and keep Pesky’s Pole - in the fashion of the Celtics, who brought the Parquet Floor from the old Garden to the new Garden. Bring a bit of Ivy from
Wrigley or a little turf from the old Yankee Stadium. Build restaurants. Muse- ums. Stores. Conference Rooms. You name it. And bigger seats that actually face home plate Maybe the team will ac- tually finish in first place, make some money, and allow poorer fans to at- tend.
A win-win-win. And if the Sox occasion-
ally lose an occasional 11-0 game to the Angels – or even the Royals – it just won’t hurt as much.
Born Today ... That is to say, sports
greats born on July 7 include figure skater Mi- chelle Kwan (1980).
Sportsquiz What’s the oldest ball
park in the National League, after Chicago’s Wrigley Field? (answer follows).
Sportsquote “No. World War II was a
must win.” – Buffalo Bills coach Marv Levy, when asked before a Super Bowl if he considered the game a “must win.”
Sportsquiz Answer The L.A. Dodgers moved
from the Memorial Coli- seum to Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine in 1962. Their win total increased from 89 to 102 and at- tendance increased from 1.8 million to 2.8 mil- lion. The Cubs, bound to ancient Wrigley Field, haven’t won a World Se- ries since 1908. #####
Michael Moffett is a Pro-
fessor of Sports Manage- ment at NHTI, Concord’s Community College. His e-mail address is mimof-
fett@comcast.net .
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