Red Sox Don't See An Expiration Date On Fenway Park: 'Viable For Generations To Enjoy'
BOSTON (CBS) -- Fenway Park is the oldest ballpark in America. It's apparently going to stay that way for a long time.
In an Athletic story this week, Red Sox principal owner John Henry and team executive vice president/COO Jonathan Gilula spoke about the long-term viability of Fenway Park, with both believing the ballpark will remain the home of the Red Sox for years to come.
"We don't view Fenway Park as a place that has an expiration date," Gilula told The Athletic. "There has never been discussion of playing anywhere else. We have made concerted efforts and invested several hundred million dollars over the past twenty years to preserve, protect and enhance Fenway Park. That significant investment has been made and will continue to be made with the intention of Fenway Park remaining viable for generations to enjoy."
Henry's ownership group has indeed invested heavily in the ballpark, opening up new areas of concourse and seating, updating some older areas, and improving some less-noticeable structural areas.
"Fenway Park has only gotten better over the years," Henry told The Athletic. "We have taken exhaustive efforts over the past 20 years and spent several hundred million dollars to make Fenway viable for future generations to enjoy. There is no design nor desire to play anywhere else. With the annual improvements we make each offseason, it just gets more exciting every year to go to work there. We deeply feel its history every day."
Henry had said in 2014 that there would have to be a structural expiration date on Fenway Park, which opened in 1912. But in 2017, Henry said that Fenway was built to last for 30 or 50 more years. The current outlook appears to extend even deeper into the future.