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BY LAURA MEADE KIRK
Journal Staff Writer
06.26.2003
BOSTON -- When the
new owners of the Boston Red Sox sought to expand Fenway Park last fall,
they realized there wasn't much room to do anything within the fabled
green walls. So they turned to the streets, instead.
They arranged to close down a portion of Yawkey
Way for two hours before each game to provide a variety of family fun
and food for ticket-holders of all ages. It gives fans a chance to relax
and get psyched before the game.
The entertainment varies, but generally includes
someone in a Red Sox uniform walking around on stilts, pitching beach
balls to kids armed with blow-up baseball bats; a magician who makes balloon
hats and animals; a live band; and demonstrations of baseballs being sewn
by hand -- the way they're really made at the Rawlings factory -- and
Louisville Slugger baseball bats being hand carved from billets of northern
white ash.
Patrons can even buy a personalized bat for $65.
And of course, there's a ton of foods and drinks
sold from portable sidewalk cafes that are set up before the game -- from
the Boston BBQ, where you can get a steak tip sandwich for $8.50, to the
Summertime Grille, which sells foot-long hot dogs and Italian sausage
sandwiches for $4.75, to the El Tiante, featuring Cuban sandwiches for
$7.75 and frequent appearances from El Tiante himself, former Red Sox
pitching ace Luis Tiant.
Beer prices range from $4.95 for a regular draft
to $6.95 for premium brands, such as Boston's own Sam Adams. A bottle
of water goes for $3, while soda costs $3.50.
The food and drink are a little pricier than buying
from the traditional sidewalk vendors, who've been relocated elsewhere
around the ballpark. But there's also more variety.
The food stands set up within the gates of Yawkey
Way are run by Aramark Food Services, which also runs the concessions
within the park. They feature nine tables with umbrellas, to keep out
rain or sun.
It looks and feels like a busy urban street, lined
with sidewalk cafes.
There are even souvenir booths, run by the same
company that runs a half-dozen souvenir stands around the ballpark. Among
the most popular items are T-shirts with the names of Red Sox players
and their numbers emblazoned across the back ($20 to $25) and Red Sox
baseball caps ($12 to $25).
All of these changes have been well-received by
fans, many of whom say they enjoy the new carnival-like atmosphere outside
the ballpark.
"I think it's great," said Marc Sullivan, a former
Red Sox and PawSox catcher who also happens to be the son of former Red
Sox co-owner Haywood Sulivan. Marc Sullivan lives in Fort Myers, Fla.,
but was in town for a recent game.
"The big thing is, it gets people in the mood and
builds anticipation for the game," he said. After all, "this is part of
the Fenway experience, too."
Stephanie Randazza, a fan from Peabody, Mass., agreed.
"I think it's awesome. Everybody is in a good mood, ready to watch the
game. It's just really cool and it's a lot of fun."
It's also nice to be able to grab something to eat
and drink outside the park, rather than standing in long lines at the
vendors inside the park, several fans noted. They can even drink beer
in the street -- something never before allowed. And it's the only smoking
area "within" the park, which fans appreciate before and during the game;
fans are allowed to move freely between the ballpark and Yawkey Way for
the duration of each ballgame.
"It's nice for people to be outside," said Vin Granese
of North Reading, Mass., who was there with his son, Nick, 8. "It just
feels like there's more area than being crammed in the tunnels [under
the grandstand]. But in terms of the game, Fenway is still Fenway."
Looking for room
Janet Marie Smith, vice president of planning and development for the
Red Sox, said the team's new owners had looked into a variety of ways
of expanding Fenway Park -- the smallest ballpark in Major League Baseball.
They not only wanted to add more seats, which they
did by building 274 new seats atop the Green Monster and adding two more
rows of seats at the dugout level, but also add more space for people
to hang out and have fun.
But there wasn't much room to expand inside the
park, which was built in 1912. They were able to add some more food vendors,
tables and restrooms under the right-field bleachers. But short of rebuilding
the park, the only other place they could find to expand was on Yawkey
Way.
So they obtained permission from the city of Boston
last fall to close down a portion of the street -- from the ticket offices
at Gate A to the players' parking lot just beyond Gate D -- to create
a gathering spot for fans outside the park. It's similar to what the owners
of the Baltimore Orioles created when they built Camden Yards 10 years
ago, Smith said. The change adds about 20,000 square feet to the park's
facilities.
The plan wasn't universally accepted, especially
by many of the street vendors who've been peddling sausages, peanuts and
sodas outside the ballpark for years.
But the team's owners were able to work out a deal
to allow the vendors to continue peddling their wares, outside of Yawkey
Way. Those vendors who still operate just outside the gates say it's not
too bad.
"A lot worse could have happened," said Nick Jacobs,
owner of Nicky's Peanuts, which was founded by his grandfather, the first
peanut vendor outside Fenway Park when it opened in 1912. When the owners
announced plans to close Yawkey Way, they promised Jacobs he could still
sell peanuts from the same street corner where his grandfather and father
did.
"It's good that the Red Sox consider this establishment
a shrine," he said. "They said they wanted to keep us out here to carry
on the tradition."
But other vendors were clearly upset about being
relegated to the back of the ballpark, away from the action.
"No comment," snapped one sausage vendor, selling
from his pushcart by the entrance to the bleacher seats. "You're not going
to get anyone to comment -- not honestly."
A different feel
The closing of the street also restricted access to existing businesses
on Yawkey Way, including The Souvenir Shop and a bar, Who's On First,
which caters to the pre- and post-game crowd. But it's still too early
to assess what financial impact, if any, it has had on either business.
The Souvenir Shop also holds the license for the
vendors on Yawkey Way, so manager Scott Saklad said he didn't think his
business would be affected too much.
But the changes give a different feel to the area,
Saklad said. "They're trying to create an environment where it's more
fan-friendly . . . But it's just different.
"I think it's going to work out well. It just takes
a little time to get used to."
David Paratore, owner of Who's On First, was a little
more concerned. The bar, directly across the street from the main entrance
to the ballpark, has been attracting fans before and after the game since
1989. He offers $4 drafts, $14 pitchers and $15 buckets of Buds with five
cans of beer.
Now, fans can grab a beer from the street vendors
-- for a little more money -- and hang out there with family and friends
before the game. (No beer can be brought into or out of Paratore's bar,
though.)
The fans seem to like the new arrangement, Paratore
said, except for those without tickets "who can see the fun but can't
get into it."
He figures he's lost some business, from fans who
loved to hang out at the bar across from the ballpark during the game.
But at this point, it's still way too early to know how much business
is off compared with past years.
Paratore also figures there's nothing he can do
about it now, and it's a sacrifice he and other business owners have to
make.
"We're obviously huge Red Sox fans," he said. "And
if this is what it takes to keep the team in town, as long as we don't
suffer too much, this is what it takes."
Dave Vieira of The Best Sausage Co., which operated
a fast-food stand from three windows in a building across from Fenway,
agreed. His company was forced to "downsize" when the Red Sox owners took
control of two of the window stands, leaving his operation with only one.
But there's little he can do, he said with a shrug.
"I'm old enough to know that if you've got a good thing going, it's not
going to last forever.
"We're over the initial shock. We're just hoping
we can still make a living . . . We just hope to work with Fenway and
the new owners, and hope we can remain."
Positive response
The Red Sox launched the Yawkey Way experience last September, and the
fan response has been overwhelmingly positive, Smith said.
Fans agree.
"This is awesome. It's really great," declared David
Ganem of Woburn, Mass., who'd brought his son, Greg, 6, to a recent game.
"It's great for the kids. He's having a blast. He's in awe just looking
around."
"It's very fan-friendly now," said Sam Svetkey of
Franklin, Mass., who said he came to his first game here in 1946. "I think
it's great. It's wonderful. I look forward to bringing my grandsons to
a game."
Dave Abbott of Peabody, Mass., said it's nice because
"you can enjoy a couple of beers and the food instead of sitting inside
one of the smoky [nearby] bars."
"It's great, but it's not cheap," noted Colleen
Whalen of Whitman, Mass., who brought sons Dan, 12, and Brian, 10. She
said the last time she brought her son, Dan, it cost more than $20 just
for a hot dog and drink for each of them. "I wasn't going to do that again,"
she said. So instead, "this time, we ate at McDonald's" before the game.
Some say the changes go too far, giving a yuppie
flavor to Yawkey Way. But others say it's a natural -- and money-making
-- extension of the sidewalk vendors that are part of Fenway's history.
The team's owners obviously want to make more money,
many vendors noted, so it makes sense for them to sell food, drink and
souvenirs outside the park instead of letting sidewalk vendors make all
the money.
"They've seen a good thing going . . . and the new
owners liked the idea, so they got into it," said a man who worked for
Continental Sausage Co. and identified himself as simply Louie. "Before,
it was just the vendors around. Now, [the team is] a part of it."
But Louie is among the traditional vendors who insist
they still offer better-tasting food -- for less money than the booths
inside Yawkey Way. "Our sausages, steak, chicken, hotdogs, onions and
peppers -- they're all fresh. That's what people like."
Most importantly, he said, people love the tradition
of buying fresh-cooked food from the vendors. "People just love this --
the atmosphere out here."
But Jerome Whitley, one of the vendors working for
Aramark, disagreed.
"This is the best sausage stand on Yawkey Way,"
he announced. "You get the best sausage. You get the kindest, most courteous
service. And you get whatever you want, however you want . . . We try
to make it the most pleasurable experience on Yawkey Way."
Busy vendors
The pushcart vendors are also swamped with business long before the Red
Sox take over Yawkey Way for a game. After all, many fans arrive early
to try to get autographs from arriving players, or to tour Fenway Park
or watch the teams take batting practice on the field hours before the
game.
The street was already teeming with hundreds of
fans by 4 p.m. on a recent weeknight, when the Red Sox were scheduled
to face off against the St. Louis Cardinals -- a team they hadn't played
since the ill-fated World Series of 1967.
So Louie and his fellow vendors had plenty of customers
within minutes of setting up around 4 p.m., three hours before the game.
The street had already been blocked to traffic,
but Fenway employees didn't clear the street to install the fence and
turnstyles until 4:30 p.m. Aramark employees then raced around to set
up the food and beer stalls in time for the gates to reopen at 5 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Hot Tamale Brass Band set up across
the street from the main gates. Boris Koski, a construction worker who
wears a Red Sox uniform and calls himself "Mr. Upperdeck" or "Stretch,"
strapped on his stilts. And Kate Selden, who works for sporting-goods
manufacturer Rawlings, was setting up her exhibit showing how baseballs
are stitched together (each ball has 108 stitches, done by hand) and how
bats are made.
"The fans love this" carnival atmosphere, Koski
said. "They're primed," he said as the doors opened at 5 p.m. and fans
filled Yawkey Way.
"Friendly Fenway," said Whitley, the sausage guy
inside the gates. "You've got to love it."
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