Should the Citgo Sign Stay or Go?

[bohemka]

Originally Posted by snatale1

EXACTLY!!!!! Plus the fact he's very open about his hatred for our country! BYE BYE SIGN!

If you're talking about Chavez, he's been dead for three years.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by btownboss4

Why would they get rid of Fenway? it is a cash cow.
People come from all over the country and world to see a game at Fenway Park.
Even in a 45k Stadium there is no way they could make as much money as they do now at Fenway. Ticket Prices would go down, mech. sales, Tour incomes, etc would all go away.
Overall Fenway is 104 years old, and it isn't falling apart, the Trolley Tunnel people take to Fenway is older than Fenway.

Eventually they will have to find a new home. Fenway still has probably another thirty years to go though. At a point it's going to hit diminishing returns for the bigs. I can see the sox still owning it as a field for the community and museum down the road. And still doing tours.

As for other money concerns, it's all about winning. Fenway, for a large part of its history was basically empty day in and day out. If it weren't for the success since 2004 they wouldn't have been selling so much merchandise or tickets.

[btownboss4]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Eventually they will have to find a new home. Fenway still has probably another thirty years to go though. At a point it's going to hit diminishing returns for the bigs. I can see the sox still owning it as a field for the community and museum down the road. And still doing tours.

As for other money concerns, it's all about winning. Fenway, for a large part of its history was basically empty day in and day out. If it weren't for the success since 2004 they wouldn't have been selling so much merchandise or tickets.

Thats because in the 70s the place was a 60 year old dump (in a bad area none the less). Now Fenway is nicer than ever, at the area is hip, and it is one of the cities largest tourist attractions.
They will milk Fenway forever, have you seen Yankee Stadium these days? It really isn't an adequate replacement.
I don't get the obsession with new things, most Buildings on Newbury Street are 130 years old, should we get rid of those? Fenway is only 104 years old, in context with the city around it, not especially old.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by btownboss4

Thats because in the 70s the place was a 60 year old dump (in a bad area none the less). Now Fenway is nicer than ever, at the area is hip, and it is one of the cities largest tourist attractions.
They will milk Fenway forever, have you seen Yankee Stadium these days? It really isn't an adequate replacement.
I don't get the obsession with new things, most Buildings on Newbury Street are 130 years old, should we get rid of those? Fenway is only 104 years old, in context with the city around it, not especially old.

Fenway is indeed nicer than ever, but well behind places like Target Field, Camden Yards, Petco Park, Progressive Field, etc. in that category. Having worked there for 2 years (and 2 years at Progressive Field too, prior to moving to Boston), I can absolutely tell you that there are a lot of less than ideal things about Fenway- the worst, absolute worst, amenities for disabled people of anywhere I've ever seen. It's embarrassing really. Also not great from a player's perspective. Fenway easily has the worst locker rooms in the MLB. No real player parking lot. Pretty bad amenities for visiting team. Not hating on the place, as it is unique in baseball and I loved showing people around the park giving them the history of the last 100+ years, but just pointing out its flaws.

I am a big fan of classic architecture and old buildings, especially in Boston. That being said, there are structural issues at work at Fenway too. Old apartment buildings on Newbury Street and a baseball stadium is just not a good comparison here. Completely different uses. Fenway will see 3 million people come through its gates this year. The wear and tear on stadiums is just another level. Yes, like you said, it's nicer than ever, but it will only keep getting more expensive to maintain, not less. All I'm saying is that eventually, even if everyone loves the place, the Red Sox are going to have to find a new spot. And it's not just Fenway, Wrigley too. And I do hate the new Yankee Stadium.

[pikabike]

I vote to keep it, and I never even watched a game at Fenway. But the sign is entrenched in my memories from early childhood living on Gainsborough Street (when it was just apartments and not condos, and from when fires gutted Morris Gordon's slums on one end of
Symphony Street...right near Symphony Hall). It also reminds me of college days.

The fact that it is a commercial sign like Hollywood's is irrelevant when the cumulative mass memories associate it with other things.

Boston is a multifaceted city and can easily bear several landmarks and symbols, depending on what an individual values about the place. And yes, being born there makes a difference in feelings about keeping the sign.

I always LOVED that the planetarium included the Citgo sign in its horizon profile of the Boston evening skyline. While ridding the city of all-night lighted signs would be a good move environmentally, it is literally a drop in the bucket considering how many homes and businesses keep lights on at night.

[btownboss4]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Fenway is indeed nicer than ever, but well behind places like Target Field, Camden Yards, Petco Park, Progressive Field, etc. in that category. Having worked there for 2 years (and 2 years at Progressive Field too, prior to moving to Boston), I can absolutely tell you that there are a lot of less than ideal things about Fenway- the worst, absolute worst, amenities for disabled people of anywhere I've ever seen. It's embarrassing really. Also not great from a player's perspective. Fenway easily has the worst locker rooms in the MLB. No real player parking lot. Pretty bad amenities for visiting team. Not hating on the place, as it is unique in baseball and I loved showing people around the park giving them the history of the last 100+ years, but just pointing out its flaws.

I am a big fan of classic architecture and old buildings, especially in Boston. That being said, there are structural issues at work at Fenway too. Old apartment buildings on Newbury Street and a baseball stadium is just not a good comparison here. Completely different uses. Fenway will see 3 million people come through its gates this year. The wear and tear on stadiums is just another level. Yes, like you said, it's nicer than ever, but it will only keep getting more expensive to maintain, not less. All I'm saying is that eventually, even if everyone loves the place, the Red Sox are going to have to find a new spot. And it's not just Fenway, Wrigley too. And I do hate the new Yankee Stadium.

The thing is people forget other than Tiger Stadium and Yankee Stadium, most modern era park replacements have been of truly horrible ballparks, Three River's Stadium RFK stadium and the likes.
They were not knocking down Fenway's and Wrigley's in recent years.