The Red Sox' proposed new ballpark "is simply a big
piece of a bigger picture for the land around Fenway,"
according to Cosmo Macero, who writes that a new "city
block" could grow into a five-acre lot that would include a
"grand hotel, new offices and sports-themed restaurants like
'ESPN Zone.'" New retail shops and cafes, "sized down to
'urban village' scale, will frame the massive outside wall
of the new Fenway Park." Red Sox CEO John Harrington called
such development speculation premature: "We have an open
mind, and we have explored some of the possibilities and
limitations. It's way too early" (BOSTON HERALD, 5/24). A
proposed 2,160-car garage across the street from Fenway Park
and a smaller garage on the adjacent Boylston Street are
"emerging as key revenue-producing elements of the
development." If the garage is built, it could "generate
between" $6-10M a year in parking revenues, which "appear
destined to play a key role in determining how much the
state" invests in the ballpark project (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/23).
HOW IT'S PLAYING IN HUB: In Boston, Peter Gammons wrote
the Red Sox "waited out and respected the local political
grid" in proposing their new ballpark plans. The team also
"understood that any sports development must be part of a
greater community development." But there are "a lot of
questions yet to be answered about ... the ballpark ...
starting with exactly how the whole thing is to be
financed." Gammons wrote the team may need to "backtrack"
on the refusal to sell naming rights (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/23).
In Boston, Michael Gee wrote that Harrington's "PR offensive
has been a smashing success." But he added that the city/
state "should make no commitment to the Red Sox until they
know, and the public knows, just what's on the franchise's
balance sheet" (BOSTON HERALD, 5/23). In Providence, Bill
Parrillo supported the new ballpark plan and wrote the Red
Sox "hit a home run with this one" (PROV. JOURNAL, 5/23).
