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June 10, 2009
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Monster Energy: ABC News Examines Fenway Park Marketing

Gibson (l) And Ryan Dicuss Fenway Park
During Monday's Episode Of "World News"
The Red Sox are a "shining example" of how a team can use not only its strengths as a "marketing advantage, but also its liabilities," according to ABC's Charlie Gibson, who Monday broadcast the entire episode of "World News" from Boston. Fenway Park is the "smallest ballpark in the majors," with many seats having obstructed views, "crammed into a small city block (and) no room around the concession stands." Gibson: "All big negatives. So what to do with that? Well, you try to turn it in your favor." Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan said Fenway "has become the star of the franchise, and this regime has succeeded in marketing the ballpark. The ballpark is a shrine." Red Sox Chair Tom Werner: "Fenway is as much a star as (DH) David Ortiz, and I think the deep affection that the fans in Boston have toward this cathedral is really special." Gibson noted that when a team has a "ballpark built in 1912, lacking all those amenities featured in all the new stadiums around the league, you go out and you sell nostalgia." Ryan: "They've managed to tell people that while all the rest of the modern world is basking in this comfort and luxury, you don't come to a ballgame to be comfortable. You come to a ballgame to see the ballgame." Red Sox P Tim Wakefield: "Our ownership group has done a great job upgrading Fenway Park. This is a cathedral of baseball. For them to tear it down would be a travesty." Gibson added the Red Sox can keep demand for tickets at the 37,374-seat ballpark "outstripping supply, and that increases the mystique of going to Fenway to see the Sox." Werner: "From a business standpoint, we want to keep the supply small. From a point of watching the game, we want to keep it intimate" ("World News," ABC, 6/8).


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