City says Red Sox must end open bar
Team was unaware of law, officials say
By Jack Sullivan, Globe Correspondent | August 8, 2009
City regulators said they plan to order the Boston Red Sox to stop offering an open bar as part of $1,000-and-up packages for some of Fenway Park’s most coveted seats.
Daniel F. Pokaski, chairman of the Boston Licensing Board, said the team will be told to “cease and desist’’ the practice but apparently will not face further sanctions, unlike other bars and restaurants that have temporarily lost their licenses for similar infractions of the state’s 25-year ban on happy hours and open bars.
“This is in violation’’ of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission regulation against open bars, Pokaski said. “But if they don’t know about it, and they don’t have an issue with [ending the practice,] then that will be the end of it.’’
Ron Bumgarner, Red Sox vice president for ticketing, said the team will do whatever is necessary to comply with the law, even if it means dropping the unlimited access to beer, wine, and cocktails and refunding money to those who already purchased the ticket packages.
“The last thing we want to do is anything that runs in the face of Massachusetts law,’’ he said, adding the ban on open bars was “a surprise’’ to team officials.
State alcohol commission officials declined to comment but referred to the so-called happy hours regulations and disciplinary actions taken against four Boston bars in 2003 for selling tickets to New Year’s Eve parties that included open bars.
Each establishment received a license suspension of seven to 10 days, costing them tens of thousands of dollars in business, even though none had been previously cited for similar violations and ceased advertising when ordered.
The Boston Licensing Board scheduled a Wednesday hearing on the Sox’s ticket package after learning of the issue from a reporter at CommonWealth magazine and checking out the Sox offers on the team’s website. The Red Sox began removing mentions of the open bars from the website late this week after being contacted by CommonWealth.
In 1984, the state banned free drinks, reduced-price drinks, and open bars at all public drinking establishments following a case where a 20-year-old Weymouth woman who had consumed numerous free beers during a contest in a Braintree bar was killed after being dragged 35 feet under a car driven by a friend.
Exemptions to the ban were granted for private functions and parties “by invitation only,’’ but the state alcohol commission has ruled that the exemption does not include parties that are advertised, open to the public, or if tickets are sold.
The all-you-can-drink Sox packages were available in the popular Green Monster sections above the left field wall as well as the right field pavilion and several premium seat sections. Prices ranged from $1,000 to as much as $32,000 for a package that included as many as 27 seats in the Green Monster’s section 10.
The $1,000 “Ultimate Monster Road Trip Package’’ included a Green Monster ticket, a night at the Lenox Hotel, a limo ride to and from the park, an on-field chance to watch batting practice, and unlimited Fenway food and beer, wine, and cocktails before and during the game.
Bumgarner said nearly all major league teams offer ticket packages with alcohol included. He said the open bar is a small part of the packages but is included because corporate buyers and other high-rollers want all-inclusive deals.
“It’s what most companies want, a one-stop price,’’ he said.
The New York Times Co., which owns The Boston Globe, holds an 18 percent stake in the Sox.
The Sox have had episodic problems with fans’ drinking over the years. In 2005, team officials were called before the licensing board when then-New York Yankee Gary Sheffield was doused with a beer as he attempted to field a ball near the stands in right field.
At the time of the licensing board hearing, the Globe reported that beer sales at Fenway had risen 20 percent from 2003 to 2004 and that the Red Sox had added as many as three dozen beer taps in the park and increased serving sizes from 12 to 16 ounces.
Red Sox officials said the locations were added for customer convenience.
Licensing board member Michael Connolly said he had concerns then and still does about excessive drinking at Fenway. “Any time you have an open bar, the potential to over-serve is much greater than when you don’t. It’s very obvious from where I sit,’’ he said.
Pokaski and Connolly said they were unlikely to suspend the Sox license. Connolly said he views the Sox issue as “radically different’’ from the other bars because of the seasonal aspect of the license and the sheer size of Fenway.
But he said he will reserve judgment until he studies all the decisions and regulations and hears the team’s side.
Jack Sullivan is senior investigative reporter at CommonWealth, a public policy magazine published by the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth and available online at www.CWunbound.org. Sullivan can be reached at jsullivan@ massinc.org.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
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