Fenway Park is one of baseball’s most iconic cathedrals—but in the late 1990s, the Red Sox came dangerously close to tearing it down. Amid a wave of retro-style ballparks and rising salaries, team executives argued that Fenway was outdated and needed replacing. Their plan? Build a larger, modern replica across the street and demolish most of the original. In today’s video, we’ll take a look back at the outrage from fans, the protests that followed, and the battle for Fenway’s future. And just how close did Boston come to losing its beloved ballpark?
During the 1980’s Fenway went under a series of changes and renovations starting with a project to replace the stadium’s roof while also adding in luxury boxes. Construction lasted over several seasons and was completed in 1983, with the addition of 23 new luxury boxes it brought Fenway’s total up to 44. In 1988, the team added a brand new multicolored video board which replaced the electronic scoreboard that had been in center field since 1976. Later in 1988, the stadium went under another mult-year renovation project to add more premium seating throughout the park. The 600 club, which debuted during the 1989 season offered padded seats in a glass enclosed section. Because some people like watching baseball through a window…I guess? To make way for the new premium section, the old press box had to be torn down and rebuilt on top of it. The 600 club would later be renamed to the .406 club, in honor of Ted Williams’ epic 1941 season, where he finished with a batting average of .406. The glassed-in section became somewhat controversial to Red Sox fans and players since it’s introduction in 1989. The private enclosed area seemed to be at odds with the charm of Fenway’s intimate confines, this fact rubbed a lot of Red Sox fans the wrong way. Some players, like Wade Boggs, insisted that the glass enclosure actually changed wind patterns at Fenway which prevented numerous home runs from happening. Ultimately, the 406 club was renamed once again to the EMC club in 2006, while also removing the glass windows from the section.
By the late 1980’s the prevailing thought around baseball stadiums and how the public viewed them had begun to change quite significantly. Starting from the mid 1960’s, with the introduction of the Astrodome, nicknamed at the time as the “Eighth wonder of the World” due to the stadium’s futuristic design and specially created playing turf, the trend in baseball had been to build multi-purpose dome shaped venues that could house both baseball and football teams. But in 1989, the Baltimore Orioles began construction on their brand new park that would be known as “Oriole Park at Camden Yards”. The design of Camden Yards was the first of the modern stadiums to utilize a retro-classic feel, taking inspiration from older jewel box style parks like Fenway Park, and it would be constructed for baseball purposes only. The stadium became such a hit with fans and baseball purists that many teams began to devise plans to build new stadiums of their own. In fact as of the 2022 season, two-thirds of Major League ball clubs have replaced their stadiums since Camden Yards first opened, with many copying the retro-classic esetic. With the rise in popularity of newer jewel-box styled stadiums over the next decade, many began to wonder if the Red Sox would ever consider building a new stadium?
By the late 1990’s, what had been unthinkable to many Red Sox fans soon became reality, when on May 15, 1999 Red Sox CEO John Harrington officially announced that a new ballpark would be built to replace the iconic Fenway Park. The project called for moving Fenway’s home plate back 206 feet, to across the street where the new stadium would be constructed. Essentially, the new ball park would be a replica of the old Fenway, keeping with the same field dimensions, but with more capacity, luxury boxes, and amenities. Parts of the old Fenway would still be preserved, while the rest would be torn down and converted into a museum and play park for kids. The Red Sox claimed that Fenway Park as it stood was obsolete, and a new park must be built that generated more revenue so that the team could keep up with rising player salaries. The team also said that they would privately finance the entire construction of the new stadium, but they needed $275 million dollars in public funds to help improve and upgrade the streets and transportation around the stadium. A few years before this announcement, there had been the idea floated around by Massachusetts Governor William Weld to build a sports “Megaplex” that would be home to both the Red Sox, the New England Patriots, and a brand new convention center in Boston. The Patriots had been looking to build a new stadium of their own as well, and had even flirted with the idea of moving to Hartford, Connecticut after Governor John Roland practically begged the Patriots to move there by offering to pay for pretty much everything.
Getting back to Fenway Park, the megaplex deal never came to be, and so the team opted to try and build a new park on their own adjacent to the original Fenway Park. Understandably, many residents were opposed to tearing down an historical site like Fenway Park and formed opposition groups like “Save Fenway” to try and stop the plan from happening. After months and months of back and forth over the amount of public funds that would be allocated to the project, the proposed idea came to an end when the owners decided to sell the team instead. Some would say that the entire new Fenway project plan was just a ruse to jack up the value of the team so that the owners could sell, while others thought that John Harrington simply got tired of waiting and moved on. Either way, the new owners of the Red Sox, Fenway Sports Group led by John Henry declared that with sizable investments in renovating Fenway Park, it would here to stay for the foreseeable future.
In the end, Fenway Park survived not because it was the easiest choice, but because fans, historians, and a new ownership group believed its legacy was worth preserving. What could’ve been just another tearing down an old stadium story turned into a powerful reminder of how deeply places like Fenway are woven into a city’s identity. Thanks to renovations, ongoing upkeep, and a renewed commitment to its future, Fenway remains a living monument to baseball history—still buzzing with life every summer.
In fact, for the 2025 season, USA TODAY ranked all 30 MLB stadiums from best to worst, and Fenway Park came in at number 5. The park finished just behind Camden Yards, Wrigley Field, Oracle Park, and PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Not bad for a ballpark that opened in 1912. It just goes to show that despite being over a century old, Fenway consistently ranks among the top stadiums in fan surveys and expert rankings (that is, if you consider USA TODAY as an expert). It’s a testament to how history, atmosphere, and character can outshine even the most high-tech modern venues.
So what did you guys think about Fenway Park being ranked in the top 5 MLB stadiums on USA TODAY’s list? Would you rank it higher or lower? Maybe you’ve even had a chance to visit? Let me know your experience in the comments below!
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