Red Sox on July 3
 

I will be standing in front of Fenway Park on Sunday, July 3, with my right index finger pointing to the sky. What are my chances of getting a decent seat at a decent price? What might I expect to find and at what cost? I guess my price limit is $100.

I suppose there are ticket scams to be wary of. A couple of weeks ago I went to a Tigers game in Detroit and the ticket person just scanned my ticket and handed it back. You'd think that they'd tear it in half. Heard yesterday about a fan going to a Nats game who was denied entry because the scan showed that the ticket had already been scanned in.

Somewhat depends on who they're playing. If it's the Yankees, that's a tougher, more expensive ticket than most. But don't believe the stories that it's "impossible" to get a ticket.

There will be plent of scalpers there with plenty of tickets. Just depends on what you want to pay and where you want to sit. You might also try stubhub.com to see what they have.

Another possibility: Wait till after the game starts before bargaining with scalpers. That's a bit of a gamble, but the prices will drop for available tickets.

They are playing Toronto. There will be lots of people buying/selling tickets outside the park. Most will be on the road from Kenmore Square across the Mass Pike. I don't know what the prices will be but the closer to game time the cheaper you should be able to negotiate. Good luck. You will love the Fenway experience.

Some of the tickets are printed out on home computers. In that case, the first ticket that is scanned gets into Fenway. Any copies or even the original, are denied entrance after the first one is scanned.

If you only need a single keep trying redsox.com I have seen singles available there.

I bought tickets for tomorrows game on Ebay.

I have not tried to buy a scalped ticket this season, but there have been plenty of scalpers around with tix to sell. I think you have a decent chance of finding something under $100. You won't get box seats, or loge seats. But you might find something in the OF grandstands (face value $25) or the bleachers. The nice thing about Fenway is that all the seats are decent....well, with a few exceptions. There are some seats that are directly behind a pole, where you can't see much. And the seats at the very back of the bleachers are behind the jumbotron. I'm not sure if the pole seats have "obstructed view" printed on them. I would certainly not pay too much for one of these. Of course, once you are there you can walk around and try to sit in an empty seat.

you should go to the redsox.com website and familiarize yourself with the seating chart and prices. That way you can bargain with a scalper from a position of strength. For example, the rf grandstand seats in sections 4&5 are considered among the least desirable. They face the outfield, instead of home plate, so you get a stiff neck there. Don't pay too much for these!

I think the last section in left field (section 32?) is the "no alcohol" section. You probably shouldn't pay too much for these either :-)

bleacher seats are actually pretty good. yeah, they're far away, but the view from straightaway center is nice. of course, it will be VERY hot and sunny out there on a Sunday afternoon. Wear a cap, and sunscreen. You'll be glad you did.

Scalping is illegal in Mass. and the cops are watching. Be careful or you'll lose your dough and not make the game.

I think getting a single or even a standing room ticket from the box office is your best bet.

mm

My boss bought tickets a couple of days ago for the Indians from a scalper. He paid $70 each for two tickets. He said they were $12 tickets (or $15) in Row 48 of 50 way back there. Said it was a blast and is very glad he did.

You should also try craigslist. My daughter was recently GIVEN!! 4 tickets to a game by a season ticket holder who couldn't make it that day. She had to meet him and pick up the tickets about 11:00 am for a 1:00 game but certainly worth it. They also have plenty of tickets for sale.

To give you a starting point, Ace tickets webiste (a reliable ticket broker that we have used in past) has bleacher seats starting at $109 each. A ticket broker such as this would be most expensive and most reliable way to get tickets.

We were at Fenway this week and for the first time I saw police arresting several sellers and buyers of tickets, so be careful.

Grandstand sections 3,4,5 at truly horrible seats as they are not angled towards the field - the bleachers are better.

As a bench mark, I paid just 68.50 each for tix with a face value of $45...purchased on Ebay for tomorrows game (7/1)

Take care and please don't get arrested. My husband won't believe I am saying this, coming from a Boston family (where my husband's great grandfather was fire chief), but even the BoSox aren't worth that. And besides, we are looking forward to sushi next wk.
BTW- I think it is very cool that Fenway has an alcohol free section. I never had heard of that before this post. What a great idea.

Thanks, there is a lot of useful info in your replies. I am encouraged. Figured I could always just go out to Suffolk Downs if my chances were slim at Fenway.

I arrive at noon and will go directly from Logan airport to Fenway. I looked into this once and I think that there is a short train ride from the airport to a train line where I would transfer to go into the city. Then another transfer to get to a stop near Fenway. Is it the Yawkey stop? or should I go to the Kenmore station and walk by Kenmore Square to find the scalpers. My map is not very good, but I take it that Kenmore Square is at the intersection of Beacon and Brookview and some other streets. ?

Looks like redsox.com is the same as mlb.com and no tix available there for that game.

The game is at 2:05, so I should have plenty of time after it to make it back to BOS for my 8:27PM flight back to IAD.

Got a cheap fare from D.C. on United: $53.96 in airfare and $22.95 taxes.

One time in Pittsburgh outside gate A of Three Rivers Stadium just before the beginning of a Pirates game I saw a guy sitting there so I told him that I was looking for a good seat. He mumbled something so I sat down and told him again that I needed one ticket, preferrably a field box. This time, I heard what he said: "I'm a cop". So, I went over to the ticket window and got what was available.

I'd appreciate some train directions from the airport to the game. I will write them on the back of the seating map that I printed out (and put x's on GS 3,4,5)

I don't think you can go directly fro the airport to the game, since you won't be allowed to take your luggage in. However, if yu're traveling exceptionally light:

Take the free inter-terminal MBTA shuttle loop bus (#11, 22, or 33) to the Airport subway station. Take the Blue Line to Government Center and transfer to the Green Line, get off at Kenmore. Then just follow the crowds.

Oh, I just re-read and if this is a day trip, then (1) no luggage worries, but (2) perhaps some sanity concerns! ;-)

Regarding baggage. Not even larger backpacks are allowed into Fenway, so even as a day trip beware. Also, you can not bring food, water, etc. in.

Regarding alcohol-free section. It is Section 32 - by chance sat there the other night. It is on left field side of Park. They really do enforce it, saw several people asked to take their beer elsewhere. Also, a man with a t-shirt with possibly-offensive message (even if it was true) regarding the Yankees was asked to turn it inside out.

MBTA directions. At airport, take free shuttle bus to Blue Line. Take Blue Line inbound to Government Center. Make free transfer to Green Line to Kenmore (Not Fenway stop, however illogical that might be). Do not take an "E" Green line train as it does not go to Kenmore.

If this makes no sense, check out map on MBTA.com

Watch in the later innings during a pitching change. Manny Ramirez will disappear from left field and go into the door in the scoreboard. He will stay there until the last possible moment and re-emerge. Try to figure out what he is doing in there.

No booze AND no free speech, in Boston? Hard to believe. :)

Thanks for the directions.

I did post on craigslist.

My guess is that Ramirez would be changing the pitcher number on the scoreboard, but there would be no reason to be in there "until the last possible moment" for that. I will figure it out.

Just a question re previous posts about scalping arrests. (I've never seen one, but I'll believe you if you say it's happened.)

Are you saying the law allows arrest of the person BUYING the ticket, too? Never heard of that one and really don't understand the reason for it.

Check out this website to see if there are any tickets available. Its an official Red Sox website where season ticket holders sell their seats at face value. Very safe and its legal.

http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/NASApp/...ing/replay.jsp

watching the OF'ers during a pitching change can be very amusing. Last time I was there, sitting inthe bleachers, Millar (playing RF that day, ugh!) and Damon went into the bullpen and started throwing baseballs up to the bleacher fans.

I think Manny is just chatting with the scorekeeper inside.

Definitely, the Kenmore stop is a little closer to the park than the Fenway stop. The "Yawkey station" is actually a commuter rail station, not a t-stop.

I've never seen buyers or sellers arrested outside Fenway.I believe it happens, I've just never seen it. Keep in mind that scalping is legal if you pay face value or less. So if caught, the scalper could claim he was selling you the ticket for $40, and the hat on his head for $60 :-)

good luck, and let us know how it turns out! It should be a good game...Roy Halladay vs Bronson Arroyo.

okay, now I see the link for season ticket holders at redsox.com (aka redsox.mlb.com) but the frame with the search options is being blocked here at work!

I called the redsox ticket office. Apparently you would have to pay a fee just to browse the available tix. Was told that I could call back today, tomorrow, or Sunday morning to try again.

She said something about going to Gate C five hours prior to the game and tickets going on sale 2 hours prior to the game. Won't do me much good because am scheduled to land 2h 17m before game time.

mrwunrfl - don't bother with my link. The only tickets availabe for Sunday's games are $250 each and you have to buy either 2 or 4, so unless you've got an extra grand lieing around, this isn't the way to go. Sorry for the bum steer.

If I did I would probably go out to Suffolk Downs. Thanks for the follow-up. I will keep trying the phone but expect to become a criminal on Sunday.

Regarding arrests - I have also never seen anyone arrested until Tuesday's game - that is what made it so memorable to me. I saw one guy being lead away by cops - do not know if he committed some other offense as well. But on 2 different corners I saw uniformed cops holding tickets and talking to very upset individuals.

Never seen that before either.

Gee, I feel guilty. I am going with family and friends (he has a cool new job with wonderful perks) to Saturday nights game because they have a luxury box--I'm not really a fan. Sorry I can't sneak you in on Saturday night.

topping

I called 877redsox9 several times on Friday and again today. They said the same thing each time: that sometimes tickets become available, so call back. The last call, late this afternoon, the lady said to call back after 10AM on Sunday. That's too late, since I will be on board the flight to BOS. Apparently, the last minute tix come from visiting team players and coaches returning their unused tickets. Something like that; point is there is (sometimes) some hope up to the last minute for a legal purchase from ths Red Sox.

This post is longer than any other trip report I've done, I think, including ones for 3-week trips to multiple places.

I got to Dulles airport shortly before 9AM and saw the departure board said that my flight was delayed and "boards 10:20AM". This was fine with me since it would give me a last chance or two to call the Red Sox ticket office (after 10) before getting on the plane.

I went to the United Red Carpet Club which turned out being right next to my gate. The departure board said "boards 10:20". No luck calling the Red Sox. Went up to to the gate at abou 10:16 to find that they had boarded the flight and the door was closed, not to be reopened! There was a couple, who also had been in the RCC, who also missed the flight along one other guy.

United Express Air Wisconsin Airlines Company gets: ((n)) ((n))

Got a boarding pass on the 12:10 flight (Mesa Airlines) that departed on time, maybe a bit early (but only because all pax were on board). Scheduled arrival time was 1:47 PM. Game time: 2:05

United Ex Mesa Airlines, who also flew me home, gets ((y)) ((y))

I remembered: Blue, Govt Center, Green (no E), Kenmore.

We arrived 5 or 10 minutes early. Was very easy finding my way to the ground transportation spot and got there quickly. Had a moment of confusion when I saw a sign for the silver line which I wondered might be the shuttle to the blue line. No, of course not. Asked a guy in a flourescent green vest and he pointed me towards the bus, I think, to the silver line. Then I saw the BLUE signs for the shuttle to the blue line. After less than a minute, the shuttle bus to the blue line arrived.

Got to the airport subway station by 1:50PM. A guy helped with getting a ticket from the machine and when I was going to buy a second one for the return he explained that the tix were only good for going from that station.

A train was arriving just as I was getting on the escalator down to the platform, so I walked right on board. Was really surprised and happy by how quickly the train got to Govt Center. Asked some folks from my blue line train which way to go to Kenmore and they showed me where to stand.

Had to wait about two minutes until a green D train arrived. At one point, the train stopped and the driver got out. There was a stop light there, red, and he pushed a button or turned a key or something and then got back on and we were on our way. The ride took a few minutes, but not too long, so it wasn't that hard being patient.

The price was excellent for the subway trip: $1.25

At Kenmore it was easy enough to follow the crowd to the left. There were guys offering to buy extra tickets at the top of the station stairs and on the sidewalk.

As I turned the bend towards the bridge over the interstate, the sellers were offering tickets. One guy had two single tickets for sale. One had face value of $27 and the other was $40 fv. He wanted "a buck twenty" for the $40 ticket. I offered $60 for it. He said, alright, gimme a buck for it. I offered $70 and he said ok, he'd take $70 but he wanted it for the $27 ticket. I said no way.

Immediately before the bridge, on the Kenmore side, there is a little side street and some parking there. There were several guys offering tickets for sale, and a few sales being made. It was an open air ticket market, you might say. It was obviously very safe from both theft and arrest. A guy offered a single ticket and I saw that it was $75 fv. I asked how much, wondering if it might be $150 or more but he said $100 so I bought it.

I was excited and couldn't give him my money fast enough. AFTER I agreed the deal and had forked over the first 20, the guy's buddy told me that the seat was really good and showed me on a seating chart. It occurred to me, after I was walking away with my ticket, that I should check it. Yes, it was a Red Sox ticket and yes it was for that day!

My heart fluttered once when the guy had to take two or three shots with the bar code gun, but he got an affirmative beep and let me in.

Couldn't quite figure out the signs, for sure, but headed in the right direction. Got directions from a Fenway employee which turned out to be not the best: go up to the second level and then down to the red seats. But approaching that way doesn't work. The row numbers are only on the vertical part of the steps so you don't see them when walking down. Also, the box numbers for the red seats are at the bottom of the section!

I was lost for a bit, but found my seat: section 24, box 37, row LL, #5. Seconds after I sat down the Red Sox scored their first run. It was bottom of the first and about 1:20PM. I got from the airport to a seat in Fenway in a half hour, and only 15 minutes late.

The couple to my left was there using tix courtesy of some dot come. The mother and son to my right were the ones who sold my seat to the scalper. She got $50 for it and was surprised at what I paid. The three seats were on a season ticket weekend plan that some dear departed had first purchased back in 1975.

It was an absolutely beautiful day. No clouds, not hot, not humid. My seat was three rows down from the top of the red seats. In front of the pillars but under the roof. The view from the seat five seats to my left would have been straight down the first base line. The seat was excellent, as good as I could have asked for, always in the shade. Great view of the entire field, and was well to the left of the fence behind home plate (the fence that catches the foul ball rockets).

After a few innings I took a stroll around the park, along the outside walkway between the field boxes (pity the people with season tix on the couple of rows above the walkway. Went out by the right field foul pole and walked back underneath. Lots of character to the ballpark. Lots of characters; one t-shirt read, on back across the shoulders, "jeter swallows".

Took me a moment, and a peak at his offering, when I heard one of the vendors in the stands shout, approximately: "battled wahdah heeya".

I bought a grey "Red Sox/ Boston" t-shirt and a disposable camera. Will post some photos on the web later this week. It was obvious who the Jays fans were: they were the ones without a Red Sox jersey, t-shirt, or cap. And there were few of them. Forget about not having invested in Microsoft back in the 80s. You should have invested last September, heavily, in the franchise for licensing Red Sox souvenirs.

By and large, the fans were very much into the game. More than most places that I've been to (now 19 MLB parks in 16 cities and five Japanese parks). Many fans were actually into the game and they certainly made it clear that they disagreed with the hp ump when he made a couple of calls that went against the Sox. I enjoyed watching Arroyo's big left kick when he wasn't pitching from the stretch and it did appear that he was losing some kick late in the game. Next innning he was gone.

The game went down to the last out. The BJs scored twice in the top of the 9th to take a 5-1 lead. The Sox loaded the bases with nobody out, tying run at the plate, but they were only able to score one.

I hung around for a while after the game, just to soak it in. They draped a huge USA flag over the Green Monster after the game while people were leaving.

Took my time back to the Kenmore station. Got off at Govt Center and walked over and around Faneuil Hall. Had a tasty lobster roll.

Buying a ticket for the Boston subway is a pain ITA. The long line at Kenmore was for the ONE (okay, maybe two) ticket machines. I went around to the left of the 200-person line to the machines and got to the ticket window where there were only 5 people in line to buy tickets. That is when I realized that you don't need a ticket if you have change. Got out of line and dropped my $1.25 into a manned box. At Govt Center, it was idiotic. They had one machine that only accepted dollar bills. There was a line to the one ticket window and the line stretched across the front of the gates to/from the trains. I know, it's only $1.25, so there is no reason to complain, but it could be improved. (at govt center, there is a vendor blocking one of the doors to the station. Get rid of that vendor and the line to the ticket window could be formed to go out that door instead of blocking the turnstiles)

I was about 15 minutes late for the 7PM flight back to Dulles so waited an hour and a half for my 8:27 flight. Did some window shopping at Brookstone.

Had some excellent seared tuna sashimi at the Legal Seafoods. Almost worth travelling to the airport just to have this sashimi.

Great day.

Thanks for the detailed report. Glad you had a good time but I'm sorry the Sox lost.

What a GREAT report !

As a born and bred Red Sox fan (I've been going to Fenway since the 50's !), I walked every step with you and smiled !!

Thanks !!

Marion

Seeing a game at Fenway is on my list of things to do while on this earth. In the meantime, I'll just reread your trip report.
And you paid exactly what you said in your original post that you were willing to pay. Excellent.

Wow, mrwunrfl, either you made that all up or you lead an exceedingly charmed existence. Excellent report!

Boston is in the midst of a transition from a token-based system to subway passes. Like all transitional periods, it's confusing and painful. Some stations are on the new paper pass system, while others are still on tokens. A few weeks ago, you could have just bought your 2 or 3 tokens at the Airport subway station, and a few weeks (well, maybe months) from now the new system will be working more smoothly. Hey whaddaya wan' for a buck anna quoddah?

thanks for posting about your trip. Sounds like fun! and I think you did pretty well with the ticket...not a bad price for where the seat was.

I haven't been to as many ballparks as you, but I agree...Sox fans tend to be more into the game than in most parks.

To OP - now since you have been to so many major league ballparks, what are your thoughts about Fenway versus other parks - or, is a new park needed or not. Debate in Boston seems to boil down to history versus creature comforts.

On a future longer trip to Boston area, I would suggest a trip to Lowell to see Lowell Spinners (Single A Short Season Red Sox affiliate). Stadium holds about 5,000, is always full and was designed by same people that did Camden Yards.

Hey mrwunrfl,

Thanks for the update. I appreciate the follow so I can learn the results of all the advice.

BTW, you must be doing quite well these days as you must have dropped quite a few coins on this little trip.

Sorry the Sox did not bring you a win. Next time.

mm

Thanks for reporting back. I love happy endings.

Fenway is a mixed blessing for RSN (Red Sox Nation). Its old, ugly, uncomfortable, too small for the size of the demand for tickets... but we wouldn't have it any other way.

RSN travels a lot more than your average fan base partially because its easier to get tickets to away games than it is to home games. Lots of RSN citizens plan vacations around the Red Sox schedule.

I posted a half dozen pictures I took from my seat at the game on my website: http://www.billk.org

The seat was in box 137 (not 37 as I wrote before).

Thanks for the explanation of the subway tickets/tokens. I did think it was odd, getting a token at Govt Center. When I arrived at that station I saw a couple of mocking signs saying something like "buy your return fare now to save time". Yeah right, one window with a long line and one machine that only takes bills. Good deal, though, for $1.25.

As far as replacing Fenway, I don't have any strong opinions either way. It's y'all in Boston who will have to pay for it. If Fenway had 12,500 more seats (about one-third more than now) then over one million more fans could enjoy live Red Sox baseball every season. There must be quite a few seats with views obstructed by the beams supporting the upper deck. Also, there is an aisle going around the infield and the people walking there are obstructing the view of at least two rows of the best positioned box seats in the park.

I did like the seating where I was at. It was a 7 seat row. To the left was a narrow, one-person, aisle which was convenient for the people in the v. large box but not useful for people walking to/fro the blue seats. The aisle to the right was wider, with more traffic, but it was not in my view of the field.

So, that's my opinion, based on one short visit.

Thanks again for all the help y'all gave me.

Thanks for the trip report! I'm going to be doing almost the same thing next Weds, but coming from ATL rather than the DC area.

My main concers are trying to secure a ticket beforehand, as I'm wary of scalped tix.

Also I'm in town for more than a day, is it possible to check luggage at the airport and pick it up later in the day, rather than as soon as the flight lands? I will be headed straight to fenway from the airport, but obviously can't bring a bag in with me. Any suggestions?

Your hotel will hold luggage for you, I'm pretty sure the airport won't.

If you book a hotel in the Back Bay/Copley/Kenmore area, a quick side trip to the hotel won't take very long, and it sure beats going back out to the airport after the game.

The only way to get the airport to hold your luggage that I know of is to just not pick it up - but luggage security at Logan is really poor - no one checks claim checks or anything - so you risk having your luggage there for anyone to take. And I suspect that an unclaimed bag might stir all sorts of TSA concerns - who know, they might even blow it up!

Only option is really to cart it to hotel first.