By Beth Treffeisen
The terrace Cumberland Farms sign may no longer shine with a proposed replacement of a new LED video board that will be brought to review at the Boston Landmarks Commission meeting this Tuesday, August 23.
Serving as a backdrop to baseball games the Cumberland sign has been looming over right field since 2009.
The sign is currently 10 feet tall by 42.5 feet long and the new proposed board will be 15 feet tall by 42.5 feet long. A new frame and catwalk will also be installed at the rear for maintenance along with new steel braces that will be installed below the wood deck that will not be visible from the field.
Other proposed changes include adding 124 new seats, dugout and dugout seat expansion and replacing the existing bullpen field wall with a new removable wall.
The new wall will allow the park to host a college size football stadium and a regulated Federation of International Football Association soccer field during the off-season at Fenway Park.
The estimated cost of the proposed work is $4,000,000.
The bullpens were added to Fenway Park in 1940. They were built in front of the right field bleachers at the same time that other changes were made to the outfield seating. Those included changes in the dimensions and rounding the original facetted corner at the right outfield according to the Boston Landmarks Commission design submission.
“Historical accounts claim that these changes were made to enable left-handed star hitter Ted Williams to hit more home runs,” the submission stated.
The new walls will have a low concrete wall with steel posts and metal panels sitting on top of the concrete to increase the height. The field side of the wall is faced with vinyl pads.
Upgrading the right field grandstand bar and seating, installing new day of game suites at the press level, and repairing and reinforcing the right field foul pole or otherwise known as ‘Pesky’s Pole’ with new foundation are also proposed.