Nearly six weeks after MA law makers "passed a last-
minute Fenway Park bill," the Red Sox "are still struggling
to find a way to pay for their portion of the project" and
are considering major design changes to "slash the cost of
the facility," according to Meg Vaillancourt of the BOSTON
GLOBE. While some observers feel the team does not "appear
confident about their ability to finance the project," Red
Sox officials stress that there's been "no determination yet
that they cannot afford the project." In studying ways to
cut the cost of the $352M ballpark, the team has "discussed
abandoning their plan to build the new field 22 feet below
street level. If the new playing field was instead built at
street level, the team would eliminate the need for
expensive slurry walls to prevent flooding. It would also
reduce the expense of disposing of tons of contaminated
dirt." Sources said that a street-level park could save the
team as much as $50M. Meanwhile, sources also add that the
Red Sox are also in talks with their largest limited
partner, Aramark, about "bringing more equity into the deal"
(BOSTON GLOBE, 9/12). Also in Boston, Scott Van Voorhis
cites sources as saying that the Red Sox have "approached
financial ratings agencies in the first step towards footing
at least part of the bill" for a new ballpark through the
sale of bonds. Also, Van Voorhis adds that the team "may be
able to obtain more" than $75M from MLB's "massive loan
pool." Sources note the current loan limit for major league
teams is "about $45 million" (BOSTON HERALD, 9/12).
