Children were allowed to walk on the warning track at Fenway Park before Thursday's continuation gameGETTY IMAGES
Red Sox President & CEO Sam Kennedy is "feeling confident the club one day soon could introduce an 'open house day,' when kids enter free for select games on a regular basis," according to Jason Mastrodonato of the BOSTON HERALD. Kennedy said, "There's a market for that. We need to challenge ourselves to see if that could be a possibility." The Royals-Red Sox game on Thursday completed an Aug. 7 matchup that was suspended due to weather, and more than 16,000 fans "entered the gates (including upwards of 6,000 free tickets for children)." The almost half-full Fenway Park featured an "open-seating arrangement" that provided a "unique backdrop for players on the field." Children were "allowed to walk on the warning track before the game." The Red Sox already have been "thrilled with the results of their student ticket initiative, which provides a sizeable allotment of $9 tickets to students for each game." Kennedy: "We see games like today as an investment into the future" (BOSTON HERALD, 8/23).
SHORT & SWEET: In Boston, Alex Speier noted last nights Royals-Red Sox game took "just 12 minutes" to finish. The Red Sox opted to "open the park and turn a potentially funereal atmosphere into a festive one." Fans ages 18 and under could "secure free entry," while those over 18 could purchase admission for $5, which was then "donated to the Jimmy Fund." An "impressive 16,441 ticketed customers (1,301 of them returning with tickets from Aug. 7, another 9,125 paying attendees, and 6,015 beneficiaries of freebies) generated a buzz" (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/23). The HERALD's Mastrodonato noted the game also had "discounted food prices including $1 hot dogs," with more than 11,000 hot dogs being sold (BOSTON HERALD, 8/23).
MAKING BASEBALL FUN AGAIN? In Boston, Dugan Arnett writes this will "surely go down as the oddest game day of the Red Sox' season." It was not the "full Fenway experience," with "no national anthem, no ceremonial first pitch." But at $5 per ticket, "not too many folks were complaining" (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/23). Also in Boston, John Tomase wrote the "carnival atmosphere" the Red Sox created for Thursday's game "should give baseball some hope that the next generation of fans is not, in fact, lost" (NBCSPORTSBOSTON.com, 8/22).
CHANCE TO TRY SOMETHING: In Providence, Bill Koch writes the "laws of supply and demand dictate" how teams run their business, and Thursday's game gave the Red Sox a "unique opportunity to explore some alternative options" (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, 8/23). In Boston, Sean McAdam wrote Thursday was "what Red Sox baseball has seldom been" this season: "affordable, quick, and ultimately, successful" (BOSTONSPORTSJOURNAL.com, 8/22).
