hi guys. the more and more i search the more i realize that this is a great resource for information because we all, pretty much, like the same stuff.

anyway, i'm trying to arrange a surprise 9-year anniversary gift for my wife to go to boston to catch a red sox game in august. it'll be a weekend trip, catching the game on a saturday.

i've never been to boston and am looking for any basic tips anyone may have.

couple questions:

1. i'd like to stay in a hotel close to fenway...how's the nieghborhood in that area?

2. there are no tickets available for any games (surprise). can i be certain that i can land tickets from an 'independent sales agent' outside the field priore to the game?

3. how much should i expect to pay for these tickets?

4. is there a lot to do in the immediate fenway area?

thanks for your help guys!

jay

Get some true Bostonians on here later that can better answer your questions, but here are my thoughts:

I never had any problems with the area around Fenway park - I never stayed at a hotel there or anything, but I never felt uncomfortable walking around (well, there was that one time I went with my Midget League group and I fell down in the middle of the street and tore the knee on my uniform pants, but I mean, besides that). There's little shops and bars and stuff - it's a pretty good scene. Get there some way other than car if you can - parking was $25 last time I went (I didn't drive) and that was a few years ago now. Coming from Maine, I learned to drive to the dog track in Revere and take the T to Kenmore Square. If you're going to stay at a hotel in the city, I'd look at the T routes as well (unless you find something within walking distance).

As for getting tickets from Ticket brokers - ouch. I've only ever had to do that once in my life and it's not something I prefer. I'm not a person that likes to pay more than face value for anything (by the way, anyone want to buy my Bristol tickets - I won't mark 'em up much, promise... :D )

I was at Fenway last year. Hope I can help:

1) The neighborhood was fine. It reminded me of Wrigleyville (Neighborhood around Wrigley Field). There is a college close by (I forget which one), which means there are a ton of bars.

2) I got my tickets from stubhub.com.

3) Paid double face value.

4) If you like to drink, there are a bunch of bars and restuarants in the immediate area.

get your tickets off ebay- a broker will rape you .

The fenway area is great. Although any hotel in the area is fine. Getting tickets to a game might be tricky. I'd suggest get out there on the street an hour before game time and see what the "market" is. All depends on which game you try and got to. Mid-week game vs an average opponent probably pay 10-20 above face. Weekend game maybe a little more. There are a ton of bars and resturants right near Fenway. Should have no problem finding something you like. Hope that helped.

Be carefull of E-bay. The Red Sox are starting to monitor who is selling on there. When you get to the ticket gate they may turn you away. Try craigslist.com as well.

They also release tix at the Box Office before EVERY GAME. These are unused player tix, etc...can get them as early as 1st thing in the morning that day, and sometimes right at game time - and usually somewhere in between.. nothing is guranteed, but it's worth a shot.

Also, DO NOT MISS THE RIBS across the street at Boston Beer Works. The Blueberry Beer is the shit, too :thumb:

Not too much right "near" Fenway to stay. But the Colonade Hotel is very nice and not too expensive and is a short walk or subway train trip. For the nightlife go to Fanueil Hall. Lots of clubs with hormones raging. Atleast thats how it was when I was single.

thanks for your help guys.

i did get my tickets from stubhub.com and they arrived in the mail today!

one concern is that they have some other dudes name on them...will they check ID at fenway?

jay

thanks for your help guys.

i did get my tickets from stubhub.com and they arrived in the mail today!

one concern is that they have some other dudes name on them...will they check ID at fenway?

jay

Probably not, but I didn't ge to any games before I moved out to Cali this season so I'm not sure if things have changed post World Series victory.

When I got my tickets from stubhub last year, they did not have anyone else's name on them.

I doubt stubhub or anybody else would stay in business very long if they were selling tickets people couldn't use!

Just got back. Thanks for the input guys, i appreciate it.

It was our first time there after years of wanting to go and man, it was worth every minute of the wait.

We took the tour of the park before the game. I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it because I didn’t want to ruin that initial walk up the ramp into the ballpark but we did. It was a very informative tour (which I didn’t expect). I must say I shed a tear as the tour-guide was telling us about how the put flowers in the seat where the Splendid Splinter hit his last home run before every game. So much history it’s ridiculous.

Some highlights:

-hearing the Bostononian accent from the water vendors as they solicited their product. They were yelling, ‘hey, water’ as if they were yelling to someone who’s last name was Water.
-Singing Sweet Caroline. I was unaware of this Fenway tradition…another emotional moment for me and my wife.
-They won!
-Seeing V-tek get a standing ovation as he made his way to the bullpen between innings (man, they love him in Boston)
-As Schilling made his way to the bullpen (to another standing ovation even after giving up three homers the night before) he hit the rock with the security guard at the bullpen gate.
-Boston fans in general. The most attentive I’ve ever seen (I thought Cub fans before…no longer).

Low-lights:

-Our seats. We paid $140 per ticket. We were 10 rows up but buried in section 92 in right field. We had to continuously look to the left and above other peoples heads to see the action. I guess this is one point of argument for a ‘new Fenway Park’.

-Varitek, Damon and Nixon didn’t play.

All in all I’d give the experience a 10 out of 10. Keep in mind, we’re not huge Red Sox fans either. Just huge baseball fans who wanted to experience Fenway. A must-do trip for any baseball fan.

Out,

Jay

I HATE the Fenway seats, but the atmosphere is great. Wife just put us on their waiting list for a season package of 10 games. Not much, but it would be nice. Will be a couple of years, though.

Yeah, the seats at Fenway are a lot like Wrigley. They don't accomidate the wider-assed people of the world. Same with leg room.

LOL - at 6'7", 260 - I got issues both ways, man :)

I am 6'5", 285.........