The Minors at Fenway Park

Today, Fenway Park in Boston is hosting two minor league baseball games. The Rochester Red Wings will play the Boston Red Sox's farm club Pawtucket in the second game. It's a unique idea. And, to the credit of the fans in Boston, the game has sold over 33,000 tickets, making a sell out look somewhat probable. Part of the reason for the game was to give more fans access to Fenway given the demand for Red Sox tickets--perhaps they need a few more, as tickets near the plate are going for over $100 on eBay. It should be a great evening for the minor league teams and their fans.

Rochester Big Picture: Update

It looks like the Big Picture still needs photos. They received over 5,100 as of August 7th. So everyone has until the 21st to get the project over the 10,000 mark. So, definitely get your pictures in. This is a neat project that I hope will be successful and ultimately lead to additional projects occurring throughout downtown to create an "outdoor museum."

The Rochester Rhinos v. the Rochester Red Wings

So, that seems to be the big debate among sports fans in Rochester. The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle published an article that was somewhat critical because Rhinos attendance isn't up significantly. Given that the Rhinos reduced discounted tickets and the stadium isn't complete, I don't find it shocking. Frankly, I don't know how anyone can be disappointed in the Rhinos "only" drawing 10,000 fans for a league that is recognized as second division in the United States.

There have been a few kinks at PAETEC Park. While there's a good deal of free parking, there's a lack of Rhinos-owned lots because demolition of a lot that would have added 700 spots has been halted for the time being. There will be a greater variety of concessions next year (there's a lack of food prep room this year) and they aren't inexpensive right now. But, at the end of the day, it's great place to watch a game with amazing sightlines. The bells and whistles will come with the additional $8 million in phase II additions.

Being a fan of both teams, I could care less who outdraws whom. In the end, when there are 20,000 people watching the two sports downtown, it's hard to spin that into a negative. The Wings have great promotions on Fridays including fireworks, giveaways and sometimes concerts. Consequently, to the shock of some Rhinos fans, the Wings have outdrawn the Rhinos by a small margin on those weekends. Given the choice, I'll go to the Rhinos game, but the Wings are king when it comes to promotions.

So, that's my view. Ultimately, as long as both teams are putting up good numbers, it's a great thing. Both teams are doing just that. The Rhinos just need to borrow some of the Wings luck (so far) with weather--one rain out in 59 games. Guess when that rain out was? The night the Rhinos opened in a driving rain storm. During such a wet summer, just one rain out to date is amazing.