Obstructed Views, Standing Room Still Available

The Red Sox put tickets on sale on December 12th during their annual Christmas at Fenway event. As usual, select games for April, May, and (beginning on Sunday morning) September were offered for sale. While almost all the good seats together were sold in the first day, as of December 20th there are still plenty of standing room and obstructed view seats available. This is a bit unusual, as even getting 8 standing room tickets for a game in a single order was difficult in years past a week after tickets went on sale. This may signal a slightly smaller demand for tickets this year, which would not be surprising, given the team's finish to the season last year and the sagging economy.

The next chance Sox fans have to buy good tickets to games is likely to be January 30th, when the team is expected to offer tickets for the really "good" games this year -- June, July, August, and some weekends in April, May, and September that aren't available yet.

Tickets for April, May games on sale Saturday, Dec. 12th

Once again, the Red Sox are putting tickets on sale for select April and May games this Saturday, December 12th at 10 a.m. The tickets will be made available online at redsox.com or by calling their automated phone ticketing system at 888-REDSOX6. Simultaneously, lucky fans who were selected through an online lottery will be able to purchase tickets in person at Fenway Park during their 7th annual "Christmas at Fenway" event.

The tickets being put on sale are the following: 6 series in April and May against the Rays, Rangers, Orioles, Angels, Blue Jays, and Twins, with the Rays (April 16-18) and the Orioles (April 23-25) series being the only weekend games available. In addition, Sox Pax will be available. Sox Pax are 4-game ticket packages which allow you to buy up to 4 tickets for each game (16 total tickets). These are highly sought-after as 7 of the 10 Sox Pax offerings include a game against the Yankees, and the other 3 Sox Pax include only weekend games. The games in the Sox Pax are scattered throughout the season (not just April and May). For specific information about Sox Pax, go to this page on the Red Sox Web site.

Getting tickets during a general Red Sox onsale date is notoriously hard, whether it be this Saturday or the last Saturday in January, when tickets for June through September games go on sale. You are battling the hundreds of thousands of Red Sox fans in New England and across the country, as well as many ticket resellers who attack the ticketing system from as many angles as possible.

Your strategy for getting tickets: There are basically two things you can do.

1) Go to redsox.com a few minutes before 10 a.m. and click on the order tickets button until it says you are in the Virtual Waiting Room. From there it is a waiting game. The page will refresh every 30 seconds, so you will know you are still in the waiting room. You may be in the waiting room for up to 12 hours before you are offered the chance to buy tickets. Sadly, if you have to wait that long, there is likely to only be scattered single tickets available. You don't have to sit by your computer when you are in the waiting room. You can move around the house and check back every 10 minutes or so. (In the first hour you should check more frequently in case you are lucky enough to be offered tickets). To increase your chances of getting out of the waiting room faster and being offered tickets, set up as many computers as you have in the house side by side so you can monitor them.

2) In addition to having your Web browser open and being in the Virtual Waiting Room, you should try to get through to the telephone automated ticketing system. The number to call is 888-RED-SOX6 (888-733-7696). This requires much more patience and perseverance than the online system, due to the constant redialing. Most people can only bear that redialing for 20 to 30 minutes before they give up. If you are going to call the phone system, you should do it in the morning, so at least if you get through you will get pretty good tickets. To alleviate the boredom of redialing you can watch a movie to pass the time.

2010 Sox schedule announced; tickets in December and January

Major League Baseball has announced the Red Sox schedule for 2010, and at least as far as games with the Yankees are concerned, it is quite unusual. The Yankees come to Fenway to open the season for a 3-game series beginning April 5th, and they close the regular season with a 3-game series at Fenway beginning October 1st. The Yankees' only other visit to Fenway will be the first weekend in May. Between their May visit and the final series of the regular season, each team will be play about 130 games, with 9 of them being Red Sox-Yankee games at Yankee Stadium.

The Red Sox have not announced any ticket onsale dates yet, but plan on select April, May and September games going on sale during the second Saturday in December (their annual Christmas at Fenway event), and the remainder of the regular season tickets going on sale the Saturday between the NFL's conference championship games and the Super Bowl.

Ticket purchasing lottery for ALCS ends Friday Oct. 2nd

If you want to have a chance to buy tickets to potential ALCS games at Fenway, you have until noon this Friday to go to the Red Sox Web site and sign up. You have to submit your name, email address, etc. A new twist this year is that they are asking for your credit card number and expiration date when you sign up for the lottery. They don't charge your credit card until you actually go to buy tickets (if you are lucky enough to get selected in the drawing).

The rules state that there can only be one entry person. Each multiple entry for the same person will be disregarded and only their first entry will be considered. TIP: each entry that uses a unique email address will be accepted, even if it from the same person, so if you have a work email address, home email address, etc., you should enter them all. You just have to remember to check those email inboxes when they announce who won the drawing (which they haven't announced yet).

Yankees Sold Out, But Tickets Available for all 4 White Sox Games

As of 8 a.m. this morning there were no tickets available for the 3 games with the Yankees this weekend. The Red Sox Web site had no tickets, and neither did the 24-hour automated telephone ticket line at 888-REDSOX6 (888-733-7696). If you want to go to any of the Yankee games this weekend, that leaves these options: 1) Keep checking redsox.com and the 24-hour ticket line, as availability can change from hour to hour. 2) Call the ticket office and speak to a ticket agent at 877-REDSOX9 (877-733-7699). Call about once an hour, as the availability on game days can change very quickly. The ticket office is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., but it is only open Monday through Friday. 3) Go to the day-of-game ticket sales window near Gate E on Lansdowne Street. Unfortunately, this method requires you to line up at about 2 p.m. for a 7:05 game. 4) Go to the Scalp-Free Zone near Gate B and the Ted Williams statue on Van Ness Street. Go about an hour and a half before game time. There will be a Red Sox employee there hooking up sellers and buyers, and you have a good chance to get tickets for face value, but get there early.

The good news is that there are tickets available at redsox.com for all 4 White Sox games next week. A wide variety of tickets are available, with most in the $30 to $50 range, including infield and outfield grandstand, right field box, and the new right field roof seats.

Great Deal: Cape Cod League All-Star Game at Fenway July 23rd

The Cape Cod League All-Star Game will be played at Fenway Park on Thursday, July 23rd and all tickets are only $10. All seating for the 7:05 game will be general admission and the gates at Fenway open at 3:00 the day of the game. In the afternoon there will be a free autograph session with the All-Stars. The Cape Cod Baseball League is the premiere summer league for college players. One in seven current major leaguers played in the Cape Cod League and almost all the players who play in the All-Star game are selected in the Major League draft within 2 years. To purchase tickets, click here.

Paul McCartney at Fenway August 5th and 6th

It was recently announced that Paul McCartney will play two concerts at Fenway August 5th and 6th. Tickets range from $69 to $205 and will go on sale to the general public on Monday, June 29th. Check Ticketmaster.com for more information. There is a pre-sale going on this weekend at etix.com, but attempts to obtain tickets through the pre-sale have been inconsistently successful.

Each year for the past 5 years a major musical artist or group has played Fenway in July or August, including The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Buffett and The Police. The stage is set up in centerfield, just in front of the Bleacher Bar.

Scattered single tickets for next week's Yankee games now available

As of 6:20 this morning, there were scattered single tickets available for the June 9th and 10th Yankee games at Fenway available at redsox.com. The tickets were in many different areas, including loge box, infield grandstand and bleachers. If you just want to get into one of the games and watch it from the standing room areas, you can go into the ticket site and buy one bleacher ticket at a time until you get what you need. With the fees associated with each transaction, you would pay about $35 a ticket.

If you want to hold out for seats together for the Yankee series, you should go online early in the morning on June 7, 8, or 9 (about 5 or 6 a.m.) to see if any multiple seats together are released. If you can, it is also a good idea to go online randomly throughout the day, as you never know when tickets will be released.

Also, if you live fairly close to Fenway, you can go to the Scalp-Free Zone near Gate B and the Ted Williams statue near the corner of Van Ness and Ipswich streets. Arrive 2 hours before the game and wait. There are almost always fans looking to sell tickets for face value and Red Sox personnel handle all transactions.

Ticket purchasing opportunity - act quickly

The Red Sox just announced a ticket purchasing opportunity that will likely be unavailable after the next day or two. If you are a member of Red Sox Nation, and you go to this link on the Red Sox Web site you will be able to buy tickets to the Tuesday, June 16th game against the Florida Marlins. But there is a catch -- first you have to buy a gift membership to Red Sox Nation for someone. Then you will receive an email telling you when you can log in on May 13th to buy your tickets for the June 16th game.

The first 1300 members of Red Sox Nation who take advantage of this offer to buy a gift membership will be guaranteed the ticket purchasing opportunity.

Also, the game on June 16th will be the first ever Red Sox Nation Day at Fenway.

Lonborg and Petrocelli to highlight April 27 CT Dugout Club Event

Jim Lonborg and Rico Petrocelli, two stars from the Red Sox 1967 Impossible Dream team, will highlight the final 2009 meeting of the CT Dugout Club on April 27th at the Groton Inn and Suites in Groton, CT. The CT Dugout Club is an organization founded by Roger LaFrancois, a 1982 Red Sox catcher. Other guests this year have included Bill Lee, Tommy John, Bob Stanley, and Rich Gedman.

The event, entitled Remembering the '67 Impossible Dream Red Sox, runs from 6 to 9 p.m. and will feature a free autograph session from 6 to 6:45 and a speaking program from 6:45 to 9. The program is candid, entertaining, and lively, and fans are able to ask questions of the guests. The cost is $40 for adults, $20 for teenagers, and children 12 and under with an adult are free. Complimentary hors d'oeurves are served and a cash bar is available. For more information go to ctdugoutclub.com.

Boston Globe says Fenway will be site of NHL's 2010 Winter Classic

Although the Red Sox haven't confirmed it yet, the Boston Globe has reported that Fenway Park will host the NHL's 2010 Winter Classic on January 1, 2010. The Winter Classic is a regular season outdoor hockey game and next year it will feature the Bruins playing either the Washington Capitals or the Philadelphia Flyers.

To read the full story in the Globe, click here.

Tickets released for April 8th and 9th Sox games

As the Red Sox often do, they have released tickets for tonight's 2nd game of the season against the Rays at Fenway. As of 5:20 a.m. on Wednesday, April 8th, there were plenty of good seats together in Outfield Grandstand Section 9, Row 9 ($30 each), Infield Grandstand Section 29, Row 9 ($50 each), Right Field Box 89 ($50 each), and for $90 each there are seats in the upper level Pavilion Box and Loge Box. However, the Loge Box seats available, while directly behind home plate and only 15 rows from the field, have a very annoying walkway obstruction with fans walking back and forth in front of you for much of the game.

For Thursday's 1:35 p.m. game, the only seats available were Infield Grandstand Section 29 (very good seats for $50 each), but if you check back later today or early tomorrow morning there are likely to be more tickets made available.

Go to the Red Sox Web site to purchase tickets.

As always, you should have the Fenway Ultimate Fan's Guide in hand so you will know if your seats will have a pole obstruction, and you will know exactly how many rows from the field your seats will be before you buy them. The book can be purchased through Amazon or immediately as a downloadable eBook. See the column on the right under the book cover for all the ways to buy the book.

As of this morning there were no tickets (other than a few scattered single seats) available for the first home weekend series of the year, April 17th to the 20th against Baltimore, but check the Red Sox Web site early in the morning of April 16th and 17th and there are likely to be tickets available.

Fenway guide book now available as downloadable eBook for $6.95

You can now buy Fenway!: The Ultimate Fan's Guide, 2009 Edition as a downloadable PDF eBook for $6.95. This book includes the Grandstand obstructed seat diagrams (so you will never get stuck behind a pole at Fenway again), and all other chapters in the book.

As an alternative, you can purchase the Fenway Park Obstructed Seating Guide, which includes only the Grandstand obstructed seat diagrams and information on how far each row in the main seating bowl is from the field, as an eBook for $4.50.

You must have a PayPal account to purchase either of these PDF eBooks.

Click here to purchase the eBook Fenway!: The Ultimate Fan's Guide for $6.95.

Click here to purchase the eBook Fenway Park Obstructed Seating Guide for $4.50.

Please email fenwayguide@yahoo.com if you have any questions.

Red Sox, Aramark freeze concession prices for 2009, offer half-price food in April for 1 hour after gates open

The Red Sox recently announced that they have reached an agreement with Aramark, the concessionaire for Fenway Park, to keep the price of food sold inside the park at the same levels as 2008. This is a nice gesture and a nod to the economic recession. It follows the announcement in December that the Red Sox would not raise ticket prices for this year. In truth, the Red Sox have only raised ticket prices slightly for most of the seats in the ballpark in the past several years anyway. Infield Grandstand, Outfield Grandstand, Bleacher and Right Field Box tickets are at most $5 more than they were 5 years ago. This should make Red Sox fans very happy that they are not Yankee or Met fans, given the astronomical price of tickets for their new stadiums.

In addition to keeping food prices inside the park the same as last year, the Red Sox announced that some items will be half-price for the first hour after the gates open during April. These items include Fenway Franks, pretzels, popcorn, and pizza slices. This is another very nice gesture that will save fans some money, and it would be even better if the team kept the policy for the entire year.

Click here for the full press release.

Fenway guide author on the radio Saturday, March 28th

Tim Shea, author of Fenway!: The Ultimate Fan's Guide, 2009 Edition, is scheduled to appear on two Connecticut sports talk radio programs this Saturday, March 28th.

WELI 960 – Hamden, Ct
7:10 a.m. – to be interviewed by “The Coach” George DeMaio on his Saturday morning sports show. Interview will be streamed live on weli.com.

WXLM 104.7 – New London, CT
11:46 a.m. – to be interviewed on the Sports Talk with Bill and Mike show. Interview will be streamed live on wxlm.fm.

Save $5 on the 2010 Fenway Fan Guide

Buy directly from the publisher at createspace.com. Use the discount code CZNTPNHG to save $5 off each book and drop the price to $7.95. Don't be alarmed by the estimated shipping date of 4 weeks hence for economy shipping. In reality, they ship the book in a couple of days and you should have it within a week.

Get tickets for college Baseball Beanpot at Fenway April 13

Once again Fenway Park is hosting the college Baseball Beanpot this April. If you love Fenway Park this is a great opportunity to see a doubleheader of quality college baseball for $5 or less. Tickets can be purchased at redsox.com/beanpot. To take advantage of the half-price offer for members of Red Sox Nation and get your tickets for just $2.50 each (plus a $1 per ticket service charge), use the special code RSNBB when buying your tickets through the Red Sox Web site.

In the past few years there have only been about 1,000 fans at the tournament, so you can usually sit in the front row, if you wish. All tickets are general admission. The Red Sox are doing a lot more promotion for the event this year, so attendance is likely to be higher.

The four teams that will be participating are Harvard, Boston College, Northeastern, and UMass. The consolation game will be at 2 p.m. and the championship game at 5 p.m. Your ticket is good for both games.

Registration for Ticket Purchasing Opportunity for Opening Day and Yankee tickets ends Monday, February 2nd at noon

You can register at RedSox.com for the chance to buy tickets to Opening Day or any of the 9 Yankee games at Fenway this year. Registration ends Monday, February 2nd at noon. Go to this page on the Red Sox Web site to register. The registration form says that you can register until March 2nd, but when you read closely down below, you will see that March 2nd is the deadline to register for the chance to buy tickets to the Right Field Roof Deck Restaurant. Registration for the chance to buy Green Monster seat tickets ends Friday, February 13th at noon. (You only have to enter once for all three opportunities). You want to make sure you are entered by February 2nd because there are many more tickets available for Opening Day and the Yankee games, so your chances of being selected to purchase tickets is much greater.

TIP: The registration rules state that you can only submit one entry per person. However, the way the system works is that each unique email address counts as one entry. So you should enter your name with as many email addresses as you have access to: your personal email, work, your spouse, your kids, etc. You will know you have multiple entries when after the drawing you will receive multiple messages from the Red Sox telling you that you weren't selected to purchase tickets -- and maybe one or two messages that say you were selected.

Buy the new edition of Fenway!: The Ultimate Fan's Guide

The new edition of Fenway!: The Ultimate Fan's Guide is available at Amazon.com, or directly from the publisher at CreateSpace.com.

In addition to telling you everything you need to know about going to a game at Fenway, such as how to get tickets and where to eat and drink before the game, it is the only place where you will find detailed seating diagrams for all 33 grandstand sections showing you which seats are obstructed by the park's infamous poles. The seats with obstructions are often not marked that way by the team, so this is an invaluable resource.

SAVE $5 Off the list price by buying directly from the publisher, CreateSpace. Just purchase the book at CreateSpace.com and use the discount code CZNTPNHG when you are in the shopping cart. Do not be alarmed by the apparently slow delivery dates they provide. The books actually ship within a day or two of your order. CreateSpace is a new publishing company owned by Amazon.

Red Sox Tickets for Remaining Regular Season Games to go on Sale Saturday

As they have been doing for the past several years, the Red Sox are putting the remaining single game tickets on sale the Saturday between the NFL conference championship games and the Super Bowl. This Saturday the 24th at 10 a.m. tickets for about 45 games will go on sale. This includes all non-Yankee games in June, July and August, as well as games in April, May, and September that were not put on sale back in December. To purchase tickets, go to redsox.com Saturday morning at 10 a.m. and you will be put in the Virtual Waiting Room. You may be there all day and never get the opportunity to buy tickets. You can walk away from your browser and come back periodically to check it to see if you are in.

TIP:If you don't get in, you may want to try to get in about 2 or 3 in the morning on Sunday. By then most people have logged off and you have a better chance of getting in. However, most of the tickets will already be gone by then, especially all weekend games. But you may have a chance to pick up 2 or more tickets together for a game during the week.

The Red Sox are also using a phone ordering system this year run by tickets.com. The number is 1-888-327-0100. This replaces the old Red Sox-run 24-hour touch tone ticketing system, which always seemed to be hopelessly busy the first day tickets went on sale. TIP: try this new phone system simultaneously with the online system. Because it is being run by tickets.com, there may be more lines that can be opened and it may be easier to get into.

Read the entire press release from the Red Sox on their Web site.

Tickets for all Yankee games, Opening Day, and all seats for the Green Monster and the Right Field Roof Deck Restaurant will be made available through an online lottery in February or March. Check this blog periodically for information on the lottery.

Red Sox to hand out ticket vouchers this weekend across New England

In another effort to give as many fans as possible a chance to buy Red Sox tickets, the "Red Sox Road Trip," a travelling bus with Red Sox staff, will be making stops across New England this weekend, handing out vouchers good for the guaranteed purchase of two tickets. All distributed vouchers, which will be valid for two 2009 Red Sox Regular Season Pre-Sale tickets, must be redeemed online at www.redsox.com between noon on Tuesday, January 20 and noon on Friday, January 23. The busses will be making at least one stop in each New England state, mainly at malls, between Saturday, Jan. 17th and Monday, Jan. 19th. For details on where they will be and when, read the full press release from the Red Sox.

Fire on corner of Kilmarnock and Peterborough Streets Closes 6 Restaurants

An early morning fire on January 6, 2009 destroyed a diverse group of 6 restaurants a few blocks from Fenway Park that fans often used to congregate before and after games. The restaurants, which were all located side by side in a quiet residential neighborhood, included: Sorento's Italian Gourmet, Umi Japanese Cuisine and Sushi Bar, El Pelon Taqueria, Greek Isles, Roddee 2 Thai Cuisine, and Thornton's Fenway Grille. Read more about the fire in the Boston Herald.