Sunday, October 13, 2002
Hallowed Ground
An idea with merit?
The so-called master plan proposed would essentially involve tearing down most, if not all, of the ballpark and rebuilding it, said the source familiar with the engineering firm's discussions with Lucchino. A rough estimate, said the source, who asked not to be identified, might place the project cost at about 60 percent of the cost of building a new ballpark. The Red Sox have placed the cost of a new park at approximately $300 million. ''In a perfect world,'' the source said, ''the master plan would be to literally tear Fenway Park down and rebuild it in place' (Edes, Globe).
There's something appealing at the gut level of having all the benefits of a new park, but keeping as much as possible the same as it has always been. Not to mention the whole "hallowed ground" angle of playing in exactly the same spot.