JetBlue Park at Fenway South – page 2

Back to page 1

---

The Design

The team of Populous (architects) and Manhattan (construction) certainly did a great job on the outside of JetBlue Park. Let’s now examine the design of the park’s interior.

From an engineering point of view, the way the stadium is put together is stunning — and complicated. But from the complicated system of support columns and uneven roof panels comes a simply beautiful look.

How did it all come about?

“John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino (Red Sox owners) were involved in the initial design meetings,” recalls Allee. “John Henry in particular pushed us to be as creative as possible. That allowed us to arrive at a design that fits in the Red Sox’ concept of what spring training is all about, plus it was a fit for Florida.”

Perhaps the key requirement on which the team insisted was that the new ballpark should “play” like Fenway. In other words, a baseball hit here should behave like one hit in the team’s regular-season park in Boston. That impacts the dimensions of the field, the positioning of the outfield walls and even the field itself.

For the field, a strain of Bermuda grass called Celebration was used, and it was overseeded with perennial rye, a common technique at big league parks. The infield dirt is a product called DuraEdge, which is also used at Fenway.

The outfield dimensions, of course, mirror those in Fenway: 310 feet down the left-field line (here, though, it really is 310, unlike at Fenway); 379 to left center; 420 to straightaway center; 380 to right center and 302 down the RF line — and there’s even a “Pesky pole” (above left) like in Boston. And, yes, there is a crazy “triangle” just to the right of dead center.

The bullpens, naturally, are end-to-end just beyond the right-field wall (above right), just like you-know-where.

And do you even need to ask if there is a Green Monster? Well, of course there is. However, in order to accommodate a truly special seating section in the Monster itself, it isn’t exactly identical to the original. While it is 231 feet long just like the one in Fenway, the Monster in JetBlue Park is six feet taller. After seeing how popular the 269 Green Monster seats are at Fenway, the team and architects decided to have two different sets of them in Florida. On top is the Green Monster Deck, with both standing room and a single row of seats at the edge of the wall. Several feet below this is another area for fans (below right), featuring three rows of seats, all with counter tops in front of them, as well as standing room behind. This area isn’t open to the field, though, as a net not only protects the patrons there, but also keeps batted balls in play. The batter has to clear the top of the 43-foot-tall wall to earn a home run. Anyway, I really like the way they’ve accomplished the two separate areas.

The main seating bowl, though, is by no means a duplication of Fenway — thank goodness. There are no obstruction-causing poles, no cramped portals from the concourse and no bumping your knees on the back of the seat in front of you. In addition, the only place where there are seats on a roof in Fort Myers is on top of the Green Monster, plus there’s no ridiculous overabundance of bleachers in right field, as there’s only room for 400 fans on the bleachers here.

As I guess you can tell, I feel strongly that there was no reason to replicate the seating sections at Fenway. And JetBlue Park also twists almost all of the seats so they face the infield. This is particularly true for the seats down the third-base line, because they point directly at a spot between the mound and second base, making fans in Sections 112 and 114 (see the center portion of the photo below) feel almost like they’re playing third base.

JetBlue Park also features five luxury suites in the infield, and three large party suites on the upper concourse beyond third base. These party suites also benefit from the way the seating sections in front of them are twisted toward the infield (above).

One aspect of City Of Palms Park that was clearly inadequate was the souvenir store. Fans had to squeeze into the cramped shop, and merchandise spilled out into nearby areas of the concourse. The merchandise manager at another spring-training park told me that the Red Sox managed to gross a staggering million dollars in sales each spring despite the lack of space. One had to wonder how much money was being left on the table because so many fans chose not to wait in the long lines or squeeze into the tiny shop. “Creating a great team store was a very high priority” in the new park, noted Allee. The Red Sox now have a store that is “a jewel. It has 2,400 square feet and has a ceiling that undulates like the canopy. It also opens to the outside so it can be open on non-game days.” Indeed, quite an improvement.

So the design of JetBlue Park is modern and spacious in many ways … but what is the game-day experience like for the fans?

---

The Essentials

When Red Sox Nation descends on Fenway South, what’s it like when they attend an exhibition game? Let’s look at the costs, the seating choices, the food and the other amenities.

Because this complex isn’t in a neighborhood, you’re not going to find neighbors offering to let you park in private lots or in their yards in exchange for cash. There’s also no subway or metro service to get you there. Therefore, you’re most likely going to drive down Daniels Parkway from I-75 and pay $9 to park in the large lots to the south or northwest of the the ballpark. While $9 is high (and is an odd amount to boot), at least it’s not the highest spring-training charge in Florida. That distinction is reserved for the Yankees and Phillies, both of whom charge $10 for public parking.

Do you imagine that tickets are really inexpensive here? Of course not — but as we’ll see, there are some pretty reasonable options. And one of the first questions I asked the Red Sox’ Sue Denny when she was showing me around JetBlue Park was if the team was employing “dynamic ticket pricing,” where the cost of seats goes up or down depending on the opponent and the demand for tickets for that game. She assured me that they were not, which I was glad to hear.

Not surprisingly, the most expensive seats are right behind the backstop. These Home Plate Dugout Boxes cost $46. It’s surprising to me, though, that the next most costly tickets are for the reserved seats in the Green Monster. These are $35, although the standing room tickets for the plaza directly behind the three rows of seats are only $15, which is the same price as tickets for the Green Monster Deck right above. Keep in mind that the uppermost deck (photo below) isn’t shaded, aside from a few umbrellas.

An important thing to remember about “standing room” tickets at this park is that they are very specific regarding the area within the park where you can stand. In other words, if you pay $10 for the Right Field Picnic Area, you can’t wander over to the Green Monster and watch some of the game from the deck on top of it. You can only access that deck if you have a Green Monster Deck Standing Room ticket. Ushers do indeed check this.

As for the other reserved seats, Home Plate Box tickets are $32, while the Grandstands right behind them are $27, and will generally be in the shade. Field Box seats right behind the dugouts are $30, while the rows closest to the field but farther down the lines are called Left Field or Right Field Boxes. They cost $27. The Grandstands behind them are $25.

The bleachers in right field are $10, while tickets for the lawn (which only holds about 200 fans) in between those bleachers and the bullpens cost only $5 (below left). The Red Sox like to point out that these are the least expensive tickets in the Grapefruit League.

By the way, if you want to rent one of those party suites (above right) for a game, it’ll set you back $3,000, plus the cost of food. Just in case you were wondering.

Regarding the concession choices, I can only categorize them as “outstanding,” particularly in the Fenway South area beyond the first-base concourse. Frankly, I can’t imagine coming to a game here and not making my first stop this amazing collection of food and entertainment.

So let’s start with the food options there.

While Aramark oversees all of the concessions at JetBlue Park, a number of independent vendors offer their own wares. This is especially true along the Florida version of Yawkey Way, where there are a variety of tents, stands and live entertainment — just like in Boston. One large tent on Fenway South Drive features Rib City for BBQ, Norman Love for ice cream and one of the two Pincher’s Crab Shack locations. The Pincher’s stand at the east end has a more extensive menu, but both spots feature their Crab Rolls ($8), not overwhelmingly impressive, and out-of-this-world Crab Nachos ($5, shown below left). As an aside, you won’t find any form of nachos elsewhere in the park. The Pincher’s with the longer menu also offers a Grouper Sandwich (pricey at $13), a Grouper Taco ($5) and Grouper Nuggets and Fries ($13, shown below right).

Another tent holds the wonderful Dutchkinz stand, featuring “Traditional Dutch Delights.” Here you can find Beignets in three different flavors. You get eight for $6. Dutchkinz’ CEO Sebastian Hermans is holding one of his delicious Beignets in the center photo above. And according to one of the ushers at the ballpark, the only spot where you will find a cup of coffee in JetBlue Park is here at the Dutchkinz stand.

You’ll find wines, frozen drinks and quite an assortment of beers in another tent in the Fenway South area. One stand there features glasses of wine for $6.75 and draft beers for $6.50. A Tiki Bar in that tent sells frozen concoctions for $8. A nearby mobile stand called Taste Of Fenway (below left) features Lobster Rolls ($13) and authentic Fenway Franks ($4.25).

Norman Love has another interesting stand on the main concourse near the entrance to the souvenir shop (above right). For $6 you can try a cup of Artisan Gelato in enticing flavors like Mocha Almond Fudge and Caramel Pecan Turtle.

The Aramark-operated concession stands throughout the ballpark do a fine job delivering the basics: Fenway Franks for $4.25; hamburgers for $5; draft domestic beer for $6.50; bottled beer for $6.75 and regular-size sodas for either $4 or $4.25, depending on the stand. And for those of you keeping score at home, this is a Coke facility, not Pepsi.

The cost of souvenirs in the aesthetically pleasing store is about what you’d expect, especially considering the immense popularity of all things Red Sox. In other words, they are expensive. Most adult T-shirts are $25 and $30, although some were $35. Kids’ T-shirts were mostly $25, with some costing $30. Most adjustable caps are $25, while fitted caps are a steep $45. All lapel pins (a favorite item of mine to collect) are $10. Two bits of good news here: this store tends to make the prices very round numbers, and those prices already include sales tax. I wonder how much above $1 million the Red Sox grossed from merchandise during spring training 2012!

The ballpark itself is wonderfully “accessible” for handicapped fans. Following a trend at some of the new parks around pro baseball, a number of the spots designated for wheelchairs are at the front of seating sections, instead of the rear. Seats can be easily moved in the party suites to accommodate wheelchairs as well.

Just like at Fenway, you can watch a slick video screen above the right-field bleachers to keep up with the action, or an old-style manual scoreboard (below left) that is attached to the front of the Green Monster. The latter definitely deserves additional explanation, as this is the same hand-operated scoreboard that was attached to Fenway’s Green Monster from 1976 until it was removed after the 2002 season when the entire wall was re-done and the now-famous Monster Seats were mounted on top. This scoreboard was warehoused in South Dakota until 2011 when it was trucked to Fort Myers to be part of JetBlue Park.

Unlike when it was in Boston, this manual scoreboard is now updated from the outside, not from behind. In between innings, a young man pops out from the Green Monster and trots over and updates the linescore (above right). Then he scurries back behind the wall to wait for the next half inning.

And in case you were wondering, the initials — in Morse code — of Tom Yawkey and his wife Jean appear on the front of the scoreboard, just like when it was in Fenway. Everything about this manual scoreboard is a very, very nice touch.

By no means is that the only nice touch at JetBlue Park, though. You’ll see wonderful landscaping all around the park, which is one of the hallmarks of a Populous project. You can slap on some free suntan lotion from dispensers are all around the park. You’ll also find a solitary red seat near the right-field bleachers that is strategically placed exactly 502 feet from home plate (below left). Know why? That’s because there’s a red seat in Fenway that is the same distance from home. It marks the spot where Ted Williams hit the longest homer in team history.

The main concourse below the stands features a series of posters that show great historical moments in Red Sox history (above right). Similarly, although you may never see it unless you take a tour of JetBlue Park, there is a series of photos along the back wall of the press box that show the pitchers who hurled no-hitters while wearing a Red Sox uniform.

And to complete the recounting of Red Sox history within the park, the same retired numbers that are featured in the Hall Of Fame Plaza outside are erected on the front of the stands down the right-field line.

Is JetBlue Park a place that would make any Red Sox fan happy? I dare say so!

---

Summary

It seems to me that one of the best-kept secrets of JetBlue Park is that you can go on a guided tour of this fascinating facility. I’ve never seen it mentioned on the Red Sox’ website, but there is the ability to pay $5 and have a trained tourguide show you around the park.

Two of these delightfully upbeat guides are Sharon and Warin Dexter. This husband-and-wife team lives in South Fort Myers, and throughout the Red Sox’ first spring at Fenway South, they took groups around the ballpark, pointing out the impressive features along the way. These are two folks with their fingers on the pulse beat of Red Sox Nation, and they’ve listened to what the visitors have had to say.

“The reaction to JetBlue Park has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Sharon. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a fan of the Red Sox, the Yankees or the Tigers, people love it. They are in awe.”

Warin, who just retired after working 40 years for Boston University, noted that it’s the fans from Boston who usually have the most intense reaction to the park. “What Red Sox fans bring to the table is a tremendous appreciation of the team’s history, and a lot of that history has to do with Fenway Park. I love it when they walk into this park and say, ‘Wow! This is like Fenway!'”

During the complex’s first spring training in 2012, the Red Sox had no trouble confirming that Fenway South was a “destination” in and of itself. “In doing these tours this spring, I’ve met people from 35 states and 14 foreign countries, including from an African village! Even the kids who come here are interested and listen to every word,” observed Warin.

You should never doubt, though, that true-blue Red Sox fans make up the majority of those in attendance. For proof, I offer this photo above of a fan’s T-shirt at the game I attended.

Yep, everything about JetBlue Park at Fenway South says “Red Sox” through and through!