The Boston Red Sox scrapped plans to expand the right-field bullpens and bring in the home-run fences at Fenway Park after the Massachusetts Historical Commission determined the changes did not quality for tax breaks for federal historic rehabilitation work.
The Red Sox had proposed widening the bullpens by nine feet to improve safety for players and coaches in the right-field bullpens. The move would have put the right-field fences at 371 feet — down from 380.
Because Fenway Park is a landmark, the Red Sox must submit changes to state and city oversight agencies. The MHS and the Boston Landmarks Commission didn’t actually have problems with the proposed renovations; the MHS merely determined the Red Sox would not receive tax breaks if they were implemented.
The right-field home-run fence has been a special area of interest at Fenway Park over the years. In 1940 the Red Sox moved in the right-field fences 20 feet in a move clearly designed to help Ted Williams launch more home runs: sportswriters subsequently dubbed the new bullpen area Williamsburg.
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