For the past couple summers, I’ve been making a late July-early August trip up to Boston. I’ve taken this opportunity to take in a game at Fenway Park each of the past two summers.
I’ve been to Citizens Bank Park plenty of times over the past 5 years, so visiting a park as old as Fenway is an interesting experience, especially for someone who has only visited the stadiums in Philly.
One of the biggest differences between CBP and Fenway is where the parks are located. Citizens Bank Park is located well outside the city center with acres of parking lots surrounding it. Fenway is right smack dab in the middle of the city with hardly any parking spots to be found in a close proximity. There are some parking lots, but the prices for those lots are upwards of $35 for the game. The tailgating culture that has taken over Philadelphia would never happen in Boston. There simply isn’t the room for it to happen. Both parks are close to public transportation, and while a lot of fans in Philly use it, almost all of the fans in Boston arrive via the T. Very easy to use and very close to the Park.
Going to a game at Fenway really makes me wish that the Phillies had ended up putting their new park downtown. There were a few different proposals floating around with the one in Chinatown being the most popular. I remember seeing plans and hearing that the park was very close to being built there, but the local residents opposed it. I guess it is kind of good that it ended up being built where it is, but it would have been awesome to have it in the city.
The difference in age between the two parks really hits you on the inside. Fenway Park opened the day the Titanic sunk back in 1912, while Citizens Bank Park opened in 2004. When you walk through CBP, there are wide concourses, tons of food options, and lots of little things along the side, like distractions for kids and stores for adults. 
Walking through Fenway is very cramped with not many different things to do besides watching the game, which is the way it should be. There are a decent amount of food options, but mostly just the traditional ballpark food. A lot of people were walking around with full pizzas though. Not the personal pizzas, but legit large pizzas. I’ve never seen anything like that at any Philadelphia sporting event.
To compensate for the lack of space, the Red Sox have taken over Yawkey Way. Prior to the gates opening, anyone can walk down the street and go in the shops and such. However, once the gates to Fenway open, Yawkey Way is closed off and you need a ticket in order to enter the area. You can even leave Fenway during the game and go out and visit the stores and get some food. There are a lot of food options out there, so it’s good to be able to get out there.
Walking into Fenway, the field is at street level, which is a big difference from CBP. I really like that aspect about the Bank. Walking in and seeing the field down below is awesome. Having the field at street level at Fenway isn’t really that big of a deal, because the vast majority of seats are on the lower level, but some of those lower level seats are higher than the second deck at CBP.
Of course, being built in 1912, Fenway has obstructed seats. There are girders holding up the second deck in the the grandstands. This of course blocks the view of some seats. Of course the only “officially obstructed” seats are the ones directly behind the pole. The seats I sat in last week were about 20 rows behind a pole, but it was still easy to see the game.
One of the most glaring differences that struck me was that Fenway had large pieces of it’s concourse walkway crumbling. I meant to take a picture, but there were too many people walking around. Right in the middle of the concourse, there would be large chunks of concrete missing or broken. Comparing this to Citizens Bank, where there are large swaths of fresh concrete all over the place and it is all still in great shape. With over 500 straight home sellouts,dating back to May 15, 2003, you would think the Sox could afford to fix up the concrete in their beloved Fenway Park.
There was talk a few years ago into possibly building a new ballpark for the Red Sox, but the current ownership has ruled that out and have done as much as they could to squeeze revenue out of the old ballpark. The Green Monster seats are a perfect example of that. With a capacity of 37,400 at night and 36,984 during the day, Fenway is well behind Citizens Bank Park at 43,647. The difference for day and night games at Fenway is that during day games, a section of seats is tarped off to create a batter’s eye.
I’ve only been to Citizens Bank Park and Fenway, so I don’t have much to compare to, but I have a feeling both of these parks would hold their own against any park in the major leagues. Citizens Bank Park has gotten many favorable reviews and is surely one of the best ballparks in the league.
Quick Stats
Fenway Park gives an entirely different feeling than CBP. You just walk in there and can’t imagine that this place has been hosting major league baseball games for almost 100 years. It is simply incredible the history that this ballpark holds. Walking through the gates instantly takes you back to the days where men wore suits to the ball game. It’s just an awesome place to watch a baseball game.
Overall, I think a park like CBP will be looked at like Fenway if it can manage to last that long. Citizens Bank Park is a great place to watch a baseball game today. If it can manage to add it’s already impressive history, Citizens Bank Park could be looked at as one of the best ever.
The only complaint about Fenway? What’s with the small ass seats? They’re tiny, You have to be model thin in order to sit comfortably.
If you’re a fan of the game, you owe it to yourself to make it to Fenway Park. If you’re a Phillies fan, you owe it to yourself to get out to CBP. Both great ballparks, both for different reasons.
-KK
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