Red Sox' Sellout Streak At Fenway Park Could Be In Jeopardy

Continuing Red Sox' 550-Game Home-Sellout Streak At Fenway Park Will Be "A Challenge"

Red Sox President & CEO Larry Lucchino yesterday said ticket sales are a “tick behind” where they were a year ago, and continuing the club’s 550-game home-sellout streak will be “a challenge,” according to Peter Abraham of the BOSTON GLOBE. Lucchino: “We think the fan loyalty is so broad and so deep that there’s a good chance it will continue. Once you get to this level, you’re at a new place and it’s very hard to predict what will happen.” Lucchino, Owner John Henry and Chair Tom Werner met with the media yesterday before the team's first full-squad workout. Lucchino said that Fenway Park will have "some ‘cool’ improvements for fans this season as far as restroom and concession facilities but indicated that significant changes are not in the works.” He noted that Fenway’s field “got a lot of wear and tear” due to the NHL Bridgestone Winter Classic. Lucchino: “It needs to be resodded, and that process hasn’t begun yet. We’ll know better in about two or three weeks. It required resodding over a significant part of the field” (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/25). Meanwhile, Lucchino said, "We've got our work cut out for us with respect to corporate partnerships and sponsorships. This is the critical time of year, the next two months or so, to bring all that in. It's still a challenge." He also said that the '12 season, which will mark the 100th anniversary of Fenway, will have a “ceremonious feel to it.” Lucchino: “It’s a little early to be specific, but we are planning on a major celebration...We intend to go out fairly soon with plans with a logo and get some help from the community” (MLB.com, 2/24).

THREE OF A KIND: In Boston, Dan Shaughnessy writes despite their “track record and statements of solidarity and longevity, we’re always wondering” when the trio of Henry, Werner and Lucchino “might implode, break up, and/or sell the franchise.” But Henry yesterday said, “We’re not going anywhere. We adore, we love this franchise. ... We speak every day on the phone, seven days a week, talking about (the team). We are so committed to this franchise.” Shaughnessy notes Henry was accompanied by his wife, Linda Pizzuti, who “looms as an influential figure in the immediate and long-term future of the ball club” (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/25). ESPN BOSTON’s Gordon Edes wrote in “so many ways, The Three Amigos have been model owners for New England’s most iconic franchise.” The Red Sox have been “relentless in trying to create other revenue streams, but in the industry’s smallest ballpark, much of the burden still falls on the ticket buyer.” One that, “so far, Sox fans have been willing to absorb” (ESPNBOSTON.com, 2/24). Lucchino said that the ownership group has "four goals: win multiple World Series, preserve Fenway Park, build the team’s brand locally and nationally, and increase the club’s charitable outreach" (BOSTON HERALD, 2/25).