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	Monday, November 6
	Thoughts on Fenway Park ESPN.com
	Jayson Stark Should Fenway Park be replaced? No. Please. I may not be Paul Volcker, but I understand modern baseball economics. And I'm tired of baseball's inclination to bulldoze its history in the name of economics. To me, places like Fenway and Wrigley and Yankee Stadium aren't mere ballparks. They're national historic monuments. So we should no more consider blowing up Fenway than we would Independence Hall. I've seen the way players react after entering Fenway for the first time. They go knock on the Monster, climb inside the scoreboard, wander up to sit in The Ted Williams Seat in the bleachers, think about Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb dressing in the same clubhouse they now occupy. It's awesome. Believe me, nobody reacts this way when they enter Stade Olympique for the first time. So rather than tear down these cathedrals, the people who run the sport need to work with these teams to figure out ways to preserve their great ballparks and still keep them economically viable. There is no equivalent to Fenway in any other sport. And it ought to dawn on our leaders one of these days that baseball needs to capitalize on places like Fenway, not abandon them. The NFL has a new-stadium fund. Shouldn't baseball have an old-stadium fund? What is your favorite ballpark? Much as I love and revere the old parks, my favorite current stop on the circuit is Camden Yards. I've often said it's such a pleasure to be in Camden Yards, I could just sit there all day and watch them mow the grass. It's the perfect blend of old and new. It has the best press box in baseball. The warehouse is my favorite feature of any of the new parks. I love the way life around the ballpark flows in and out of life in the Inner Harbor. And of course -- since I live in Philadelphia, where we apparently will never get a real ballpark in my lifetime -- I'm jealous that such a beautiful place could even exist a mere two hours down the road. Not fair! Rick Sutcliffe Should Fenway Park be replaced? I pitched the first night game when they turned on the lights at Wrigley Field. And I saw other changes there, too, like the addition of skyboxes. They gave Wrigley a face-lift and it didn't lose its charm. If they can do that in Chicago, they should find a way to do it in Boston. I may be biased toward Wrigley because I played there, but there is a charm that exists at Wrigley that everyone in the National League looks forward to experiencing. And everybody in the American League feels the same way about Fenway -- each year, players can't wait to get to Boston or Chicago. Those two, along with Dodger Stadium ... we need to do everything we can to save those parks. There is something magical about those locations that I would hate to see lost. I also pitched the first game at Camden Yards. I'm from Baltimore and I know what a beautiful new park can do for a city, and I know the pride the residents of Baltimore take in Camden Yards. Great parks also did great things for Colorado, Cleveland, Texas and Atlanta. But none of those are Fenway. Fenway is a whole different ballgame. What is your favorite ballpark? Wrigley Field, no question. At Wrigley, it's not just a game, it's an event. I remember when I played, fans would just sit down to enjoy their afternoon, and the next thing you know it's the seventh inning and there's Harry, up there singing the stretch. People would stretch and look around and say, "What's the score of this game, anyway?" There's no big Jumbotron, there's no replay, there's no fights in the stands. It's just a day out in the sun, with 35,000 of your best friends. Dave Campbell Should Fenway Park be replaced? Yes, Fenway should be replaced. I know it's tough for the fans in New England. I grew up in Michigan and Tiger Stadium was the ultimate institution for me; it was my Fenway. It was the stadium I grew up in, with all the memories and nostalgia involved. Tiger Stadium was a wonderful sea of green and had a magical charm about it. In fact, Fenway and Tiger opened the exact same day -- April 20, 1912. Unfortunately, the bottom line in today's economy is that you have to create a stadium that can generate a lot of revenue from places other than ticket sales. Right now, the Red Sox have the most expensive ticket prices in baseball and that is because they only have 33,000 seats. They need to have a stadium with corporate luxury suites; and I mean real, top-notch suites, not those things they threw up like a glorified backstop in recent years. At Comerica Park (that's French for Tiger Stadium), they revamped everything. There is nothing there that reminds you of Tiger Stadium. But it doesn't have to be that way. Build a new stadium for the Red Sox and find a way to keep the Green Monster. There was a tremendous amount of opposition to tearing down Tiger Stadium. They had all kinds of "Save Tiger" groups, just like they do in Boston now. The bottom line is Fenway Park is, like Tiger Stadium was, antiquated, old and probably getting to the point of unsafe. "Save Fenway" groups only put off the inevitable. It's time to move into the 21st century. What is your favorite ballpark? Tiger Stadium was my favorite park, but now I think I've got to say Pac Bell in San Francisco. There are beautiful vistas of the Bay, it has all the great new amenities, great seating; it's just a spectacular venue. If you're sitting down the right-field line in the upper deck you can see the Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. Pretty cool. Tim Kurkjian Should Fenway Park be replaced? Absolutely not. There is so much history and tradition at Fenway, I would hate to see it go. I know it's getting a little old, and I know I sit in the press box and not behind some pole obstructing my view in the stands, but every time I walk in that place, I think about Ted Williams and Babe Ruth, and that stuff is really important. Even if they build a park to look just like it, it won't be the same. Financially, I understand why new parks are necessities. Today's game is built around luxury suites, big-time corporate backing and over 40,000 seats; and Fenway doesn't have any of those. The only way to make Fenway a financially viable park is to tear it down and build a new one. I know Fenway will be replaced eventually, and I'll be sad when it is. What is your favorite ballpark? Fenway has always been my favorite park. My father grew up in Watertown, and as a little kid, I used to go up there every summer on vacation. But it's about more than just my personal memories; it's about the history and tradition of Fenway. It's so rich there; you just can't walk into places and get that same feeling anymore. It's almost like every time you walk in there you're going back in time -- which is great, especially with all the new parks sprouting up today. When you find a place with so much history, it is, well, irreplaceable. Brian McRae Should Fenway Park be replaced? From a nostalgic standpoint, you can't tear down Fenway. But from an economic standpoint, the Red Sox are losing so much money, they need to get a new ballpark. The amount of money it costs just to maintain Fenway is amazing. The way the economics of baseball are today, if the Red Sox don't get a new stadium, 10 years from now it will be hard for them to compete and put a championship-caliber team on the field. I think the fans would rather see a championship-caliber team in a new park than a last-place team in an old, broken-down Fenway Park. It's inevitable. What is your favorite ballpark? Of the old parks, I like Fenway. As a player at Fenway, the fans are right on top of the field and there's so much history you can feel it. Everything surrounding Fenway makes it such a fun place to play, especially the neighborhood it's in. It's one of the best parks in baseball for the players on the field. Of course because it's so old, the clubhouses leave something to be desired, but on the field, it's great. Of the new parks, I like Coors field. I love Denver and I think of all the new ballparks, they did it right. They put the fans close to the field, and it has a little bit of all the old stadiums built in. The old scoreboard is cool. It has a good mix of the old and the new. Rob Dibble Should Fenway Park be replaced? No. There are very few old-time structures left in the league. In the NL, it's Wrigley; in the AL, it's Yankee Stadium and Fenway. Those parks are monuments and are like museums. Babe Ruth, Yaz, Ted Williams ... great players have walked across that field. I love the historical aspect of baseball and the history of Fenway makes saving it worth more than any economic downside. There is enough technology to refurbish the stadium without having to tear it down. You should be able to rebuild it from within. I understand that, economically, something has to be done. And the facilities aren't the greatest; the locker rooms are way too small. It needs to be upgraded in the worst way, but it's difficult to imagine Fenway not existing. What is your favorite ballpark? Wrigley Field. I love day games and I love the fans there. They are very knowledgeable and cheer for both sides of the ball. Very, very good baseball fans in the old-time atmosphere. Plus, the shadows late in the afternoon never hurt when I was pitching. Buck Martinez Should Fenway Park be replaced? Yes. Fenway Park should be replaced because the locker-room facilities, the fan-comfort facilities and the concession stands are all antiquated. But when they replace it, they have to pay particular attention to keeping the new park as close to what it is now as possible. Fenway Park is baseball history and a remarkable baseball setting. They would make a terrible mistake if they don't include the Green Monster in whatever new ballpark is built. But the economics of the game today dictate that they need more luxury boxes and more fan amenities because that is the way the game is headed. What is your favorite ballpark? Pac Bell Park. It has captured the essence of San Francisco in that you can see the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco Bay, yet they have kept a baseball atmosphere. The different fences and the different dimensions of the outfield make it very interesting, and at the same time the fans are very close to the field. Plus, it's an open-air ballpark. I saw my first major-league game in 1958 at Seals Stadium in San Francisco, and it brings back a lot of those memories because of the way the grass looks, how the park sits on a beautiful sunny afternoon day.