BOSTON -- On Friday afternoon, Red Sox fans will get their first up-close look at offseason acquisition Trevor Story in the home opener against the Twins. Also making its debut? A new and improved Fenway Park.
Members of the Red Sox front office, alongside Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, unveiled a number of offseason improvements at Fenway Park on Wednesday morning. Structural changes include: The Truly Terrace, a newly constructed 8,800-square-foot open-air concourse space located at the back of bleachers Sections 39, 41, 42 and 43; the 521 Overlook, a 7,600-square-foot event space; and a new in-park NESN studio. Non-structural changes to Fenway in 2022 include a cashless payment system and new concessions.
“This is one of our most aggressive offseason improvements,” Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy said. “As someone who grew up here in the 70’s and the 80’s coming to Fenway, I spent a lot of time in the bleachers. To have this type of amenity with the restrooms and the food offerings and the bar area I hope will be well received. And then the function space upstairs will be great for group events and for non-baseball events as well.”
What’s new?
Truly Terrace
The bottom section of a two-story addition above the bleachers, the Truly Terrace includes a new row of barstool seating, new standing room areas with drink rails, new restrooms and a 360-degree island bar that will offer new food and beverage options.
“The bleachers have long been the most underserviced area of Fenway Park,” Red Sox executive vice president and chief operating officer Jonathan Giula said, “and now those seated in the bleachers, particularly in the upper rows of the bleachers, will have convenient access to amenities such as … new food and beverage stands [and] new restrooms.
“We’re really, really excited. We think this is consistent with our approach to enhance the fan experience with all of our improvements here over the last 20 years at Fenway.”
521 Overlook
The top half of the two-story addition will serve as a year-round event space with a capacity of approximately 600 people and the ability to subdivide the room for smaller groups. The west side of the function room features a 130-foot-long and 10-foot-high wall of windows that lead to a spacious balcony with sweeping views of the entire field and ballpark.
Why 521? The number represents Hall-of-Famer Ted Williams’ career home run total and just so happens to be the approximate distance in feet from home plate to the Overlook. Fenway Park events can be reached by email at events@redsox.com or by calling 617-226-6791.
NESN studio
Say goodbye to the temporary stage on Jersey Street, and say hello to the new glass-walled studio located behind Section 39 of the bleachers. The 20-by-24-foot studio will serve as NESN’s home for pre and postgame shows, with a backdrop of the playing field and the Fenway Park façade behind home plate.
Cashless payment
The Red Sox announced on Wednesday that Fenway Park will operate entirely cashless in 2022. Concession stands throughout the ballpark will only accept credit cards or touchless payment with smartphones. But what about my in-seat peanuts? Don't worry, hawkers will be equipped with cashless point-of-sale-devices which will accept mobile or card payments.
Fans with cash can stop by the Gate E Concourse, Home Plate Concourse and the Kids Concourse to load their cash onto a Mastercard debit card using a Cash-2-Card exchange kiosk. In addition to Fenway Park, the debit cards will be accepted at any business that takes Mastercard.
Concessions
New items featured and available at stands throughout the ballpark include Sal’s Pizza, mozzarella sticks, buffalo chicken spring rolls, Jalapeno Cheetos hot dog, turkey gyros, Grillo’s pickles, platanos maduros, fluffer nutter fries, and the Doritos walking taco. The Truly Awesome Burger will be a new signature item available at the new Truly Takeout stand at the Truly Terrace and includes Savenor's Butter Smash Burger, melted Vermont cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion and Thousand Island dressing on a brioche roll.
And if you're still hungry after sampling the new offerings, you can always go back to the classics with a Fenway Frank.