Greetings from England and advice on game seats please

zeetha

New Member
Jun 14, 2016
2
Greetings from England!

I'm coming over to visit Boston in a few weeks and am hoping to get to a Red Sox game whilst we are in town. I hope you don't mind me posting on here, but I thought local people would be the best to ask for advice. Which seats would you recommend for a great atmosphere and view that aren't too expensive?

Thanks in advance!

Zeetha
 

Lose Remerswaal

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Depends on your definition of Expensive.

Generally, the more you pay, the better the views will be, so only your budget can define what's best for the price.

One trick is to know that some games cost more than others. Scroll down on this link: http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/bos/ticketing/ticket_pricing.jsp and look for Tier 4 and Sox Savers for best prices. Once you've got your game picked and your budget then we can help with specific selections.

Many games are already sold out or nearly so, so do not wait too long to go forward with this.
 

brownbob

New Member
Nov 15, 2006
1
Utah
Greetings from England!

I'm coming over to visit Boston in a few weeks and am hoping to get to a Red Sox game whilst we are in town. I hope you don't mind me posting on here, but I thought local people would be the best to ask for advice. Which seats would you recommend for a great atmosphere and view that aren't too expensive?

Thanks in advance!

Zeetha
Check out www.stubhub.com, a ticket reseller. The Red Sox offer a similar reseller site: http://redsoxreplay.com/resale/redsox-events/. I have used stubhub with no problems, but not the red sox replay site (which appears to be more expensive). Both will give you an idea of ticket prices and show you seat views. If you only need a single ticket and have a flexible schedule, I often go to the ballpark the day of the game and pick up a single ticket from one of the ticket "scalpers" outside the ballpark. Closer to game (like during the first inning), tickets get less expensive, especially if they only have a single ticket.

See this link for more info on ticket scalping at Red Sox games:
http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/is-scalping-buying-red-sox-tickets-legal.cfm

Cheers!
 

Lose Remerswaal

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That article is 9 years old.

There is a "scalp free zone" on Landsdowne Street where fans can buy face value (or below) tickets from other fans with Red Sox personnel there to make sure the tix are good.
 

section15

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Mar 23, 2007
227
Bradford, MA and section 15
Replay is a decent place - STHs dump their unneeded tickets there (as do I) - keep in mind that there is "dynamic pricing" and different games have different face prices.

And - if you want to see a prime opponent - on a Fri/Sat/Sun you will pay more than against lesser opponents on other days of the week. A weekend game vs. the Yankees will cost you. A Tuesday night game vs. a lesser out-of-division team - not so much.

Before clicking "buy" - check www.preciseseating.com - shows you where the posts are, obstructions, etc. Also keep in mind that the official Red Sox ticket definition of "obstructed view" is far more limited that you can imagine. You can be smack dab behind a post, and there will be no indication on the ticket.

Best seats - infield. Worst - wrong-way seats and those way to far away (sections 1-5). Bleachers are a better value than those. Best value = bleachers (center field) and left-field grandstand (lower price, angled toward the infield).

If you're wanting to spend more - there are options from Pavilion Box, Pavilion Club, Field Box, and monster seating.

That being said - Fenway is a GREAT experience. Last night I sat next to folks visiting from Baltimore, they loved the tradition, history, etc.
 
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snowmanny

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Dec 8, 2005
15,804
I would argue, strongly, that the least desirable/lowest value seats are deep right field grandstand, say sections 1-6 or something like that. I don't even much like the lower boxes in that area, but some have a different point of view on those. I much prefer the bleachers to seats in RF past the foul pole as long as I'm not way back.

Edit: Or all of what section15 said.
 

Harry Hooper

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Jan 4, 2002
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Third base side.
The problem there is a newbie to Fenway will be frustrated by not being able to see the LF corner. For a first visit I'd recommend roughly the first 8 rows of grandstand sections 14-16 or the corresponding more expensive loge seats for those sections.

zeetha, how many tickets do you need per game? How tall/wide are you?
 

section15

Member
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Mar 23, 2007
227
Bradford, MA and section 15
... also note, that even on Replay - not all are season ticket seats - I learned that when I bought Sox Pax in December at the Christmas at Fenway event, they asked if I had an account # - I gave it to them and they listed those tickets in my "Replay-able" inventory.
 

zeetha

New Member
Jun 14, 2016
2
Wow, thanks everyone for all the information! Theres going to be 3 of us, and one is near 6 foot if that helps @Harry Hooper ?

I know its a Friday, but looking like the Rays game on the 9th July is our preferred option. Shall check out StubHub etc for what tickets are available :)
 

BlackJack

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Oct 11, 2007
3,460
I think Friday is the 8th.
Yeah but England is a few hours ahead - it'll be the 9th there by the time the game starts...

Agreed--the best reasonably priced seats in the house. I like the grandstand better than the closer sections in this area because even though you're a little farther away, the higher elevation gives you a better angle for watching the infield play.
The other benefit of having seats on the 1st base side is that you'll get the full effect of seeing the Monster when you walk with the ramp from the concourse. IMO it is a must for any first time visitor to Fenway to walk up to the stands that way, even if their tickets are elsewhere in the park. Walking up that ramp with the Monster looming is like entering Oz.
 

TheoShmeo

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Jul 19, 2005
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My view is that if you are going to Fenway for the experience and are price conscious, that the CF bleachers -- sections 36 or 37 in low rows (though not the first few given the pedestrian traffic) -- are the way to go. Great environment out there and you can look straight into the home plate area. I don't love a lot of the grand stands because of the cave feeling with the roof over head. But that might just be my craziness/claustrophobia speaking....

Sections 34 and 35 are great too as long as you are going for a night game.
 

rmaher

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Oct 22, 2012
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Avoid the right field grandstands if at all possible. The seats are tiny and they face center field. Your neck will hurt after 3+ consecutive hours of looking left.

Hope you find good seats to a good game!
 

Harry Hooper

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Wow, thanks everyone for all the information! Theres going to be 3 of us, and one is near 6 foot if that helps @Harry Hooper ?

I know its a Friday, but looking like the Rays game on the 9th July is our preferred option. Shall check out StubHub etc for what tickets are available :)
zeetha, if you want 3 seats together, that's going to rule out day-of-game strategies unless you're a real gambler. It's good to know that no one in your party is over 6 feet in height, The grandstand seats in Fenway are made of wooden slats and date back to when the park was built. So understand that they are a bit lacking in legroom and also seat width. The more expensive loge or box seats are newer, made of a more forgiving plastic, and offer a bit more room. As section 15 mentioned above, checking out preciseseating.com to avoid obstructed views is critical. Another quirk in Fenway is that certain higher-priced sections get served by beer vendors wandering the aisles while other sections do not.
 

Minneapolis Millers

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Jul 15, 2005
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For the best overall combo of value and view, most seats in the first few rows of the infield grandstands are the best. It's not very cave like in the lowest portions of the GS, but as others have noted, you HAVE to use something like preciseseating to be sure you're not sitting behind a support beam. The LF GS are also pretty good, but you lose the LF corner and (I think) 2 of the sections are family seating/no alcohol.

I'll quibble a bit with others about the RF GS. I think the first few rows of Sections 1 and 2 aren't bad value seats. They face the infield, do not overlook the bullpens, and are VERY close to the field (with the wall being so low there). They're somewhat unique in that latter respect. Because they're "RF GS" you can sometimes get them relatively cheaply. Just don't sit too close to the bullpens or the bullpen wall will block some of LF.
 

tims4wins

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Jul 15, 2005
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Hingham, MA
Here is the Fenway precise seating link

http://www.preciseseating.com/fenwaypark2.php

Edit: and I will echo the first couple rows of the grandstand as best value. My father had season tix in section 30 (3rd base side), row 2 for nearly 30 years. They cost at least $20 less per ticket than the box seats 2 rows in front, maybe even less.
 

HriniakPosterChild

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Jul 6, 2006
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For the best overall combo of value and view, most seats in the first few rows of the infield grandstands are the best. It's not very cave like in the lowest portions of the GS, but as others have noted, you HAVE to use something like preciseseating to be sure you're not sitting behind a support beam. The LF GS are also pretty good, but you lose the LF corner and (I think) 2 of the sections are family seating/no alcohol.
Oh, God, I've had seats in the first few grandstand rows and hated them. The people walking in the aisle in front of you block your view for the entire game,
 

ToeKneeArmAss

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Another good resource is SeatGeek.com. They accumulate information from multiple resellers (and you can click through from their site to buy tickets). But my favorite feature is their ratings - they try to tell you what pricing appears to be a good or bad deal for the seats you're considering.

Here's a pretty good map for the Friday 08 July game (which coincidentally I will be attending ...)

https://seatgeek.com/rays-at-red-sox-tickets/7-8-2016-boston-massachusetts-fenway-park/mlb/2932303
 

mauf

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If you are buying tickets on a secondary site (such as Red Sox Replay or Stubhub) rather than directly from the Red Sox, some of what's been said here won't apply -- for example, seats in the first few rows of the grandstand won't be bargain-priced.

In my experience, the best seats for the money on the secondary market are in the loge box down the third-base line (box 160 or thereabouts). They aren't as good as box seats closer to home plate, but they have terrific sight lines, and they're usually available for less than face value (what the Red Sox charge for the seats) on the secondary market.

I'll echo everything others have said about avoiding the right field grandstand -- to be safe, don't buy grandstand tix with a single-digit section number. Also, a lot of grandstand seats have partially obstructed views; personally, I would rather sit in the bleachers than the grandstand unless I was in the first 5-6 rows of a double-digit grandstand section (and again, those tickets tend to be pricey on the secondary market).

There's nothing wrong with the bleachers, by the way, particularly if you're between rows 4 and 20. (The first few rows are affected by pedestrian traffic; past the 20th row, you're too far from the field, assuming you're not primarily there to drink beer and look at coeds and only incidentally there to watch the game.)

State Street Pavilion seats are also nice, and are sometimes surprisingly affordable on the secondary market. The sight lines are good, but they tend to be more like what you'd get in a modern park than what's typical of Fenway, so I would probably not buy those if you're making a "bucket list" trip to Fenway.
 

OCST

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Jan 10, 2004
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Avoid the right field grandstands if at all possible. The seats are tiny and they face center field. Your neck will hurt after 3+ consecutive hours of looking left.

Hope you find good seats to a good game!
RF sections 1-4, especially in the back, are to be avoided.
 

j44thor

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Aug 1, 2006
11,161
What is "expensive"? Coming from the UK it would be good to know what you are considering for a budget. If you are buying off the secondary market (stubhub or redsox replay) I would wait until day or two before the game to buy tickets. Tix almost always come down in price the closer you get to the game. I went to the SEA game yesterday and was able to get field box 80 row A for slightly below face value on Friday via STH. Sellers don't want to lose $$ for nothing on those tix so they drop the price considerably.

Getting 3 tix is going to be much tougher on the secondary market though. A lot of sites won't allow you to leave a single ticket.

The worst value tix are going to be loge AA/BB as you will be paying a premium and have people walking in front of you the entire game. Don't get tricked into buying those tix. Almost all of them are terrible. I believe the Sox note those tix as a high traffic area.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Nov 16, 2004
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If you aren't drinking during the game I love Grandstand 33 by the monster. Perfect angle, the seats are dirt cheep and they have the plastic loge box seats. Great seats for if there are a couple home runs or rocket doubles into the monster.
 

Moviegoer

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Feb 6, 2016
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If you aren't drinking during the game I love Grandstand 33 by the monster. Perfect angle, the seats are dirt cheep and they have the plastic loge box seats. Great seats for if there are a couple home runs or rocket doubles into the monster.
Yeah, I sat in the family section (33, 32, and IIRC 31) regularly for years. I never drink at games so the no beer rule wasn't an issue. You have to be wary of some of the seats in the back of the section due to pillars blocking key parts of the infield like the mound or second base, etc. But you get a really intimate view of the game with only missing things in the very extreme corner of the wall. And if I remember correctly the front few rows are in front of the pillars.
Here's a pic of the outfield view I took from the very front of that section for that insane Zink start against the Rangers:

I never sat in those loge sections in front of the family section, 163 and 164, but those look pretty nice too if you got a little more scratch to work with.