What is most impressive of the record reached by the Boston Red Sox attendance last Monday is that there is a substantial chance it will be broken yet again in 2012. On Monday August 1, the Boston Red Sox sold 3 million tickets during the 2011 season faster than any other season in Red Sox history. This beats the organization's previous record of August 5, 2009, as the fastest the Red Sox have ever reached the mark of 3 million tickets sold during a season.
Amazingly, but not surprisingly, the Red Sox have sold at least 3 million tickets every year since 2008. As this marketing-oriented ownership group continues to find unique ways to increase the seating in Fenway Park, they are taking advantage of the high demand, and maximizing the revenues from ticket sales. The best part is that they are doing it very cautiously, making sure they do not take away from the historic Fenway experience.
What once seemed like a sin, has turned into a fan-friendly way of updating the nearly 100 year old ballpark to 2011 standards. Other than adding seats, the new high definition video boards are a great addition to the stadium, and an even better addition to the game-night experience for the fans. Over the last few years, Boston area sports venues have all seen the transition to high-definition video boards. This was first seen with the TD Garden's HDX board, which uses 360 degree LED screens for a crisp high definition picture. Soon after, Gillette Stadium added two 48' by 27' high definition video boards behind the end zones.
As the Red Sox try to keep up with the competition, they show no signs of slowing down. Just last Thursday in a game against the Cleveland Indians, the Red Sox had their highest attendance since World War II with 38,477 fans.
So will the Red Sox attendance record be topped in 2012? All signs point to yes. The brilliant marketing tactics of this franchise are still as superb as they have been when the new ownership took over. Their "Paint the Town Red" approach has not gone off track at all. As the records continue to be broken, they keep packing in the fans night after night. 3 millions times over.
Zach Baru can be followed on Twitter @zbaru and reached at zachbaru@gmail.com.
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