Pickleball comes to Fenway Park as growing sport reaches the big leagues

ByAssociated Press

Published Jul 11, 2023

"We tried to make this so that everybody can come if they want to play," Weinberger said, adding that there will be a free kids clinic with the pros. "We really want to give the pickleball ecosystem this incredible sort of iconic opportunity and all of the experiences that go along with it."

The oldest ballpark in the major leagues, Fenway has hosted the Red Sox as its primary tenant since the week the Titanic sank in 1912. But it has long been borrowed by other sports, including the NFL and college football, boxing, soccer and hockey.

Since the team's current owners took over in 2002, Fenway has expanded its portfolio to include ski jumping and ice skate racing, Top Golf and an obstacle course race, Irish hurling and Shakespeare in the Park, movies and more than 100 concerts in all.

More than 120,000 people passed through the park for offseason events this winter alone - even with the Red Sox missing the postseason - with thousands more taking the tours that make Fenway one of the top tourist attractions in New England.

"We're always looking to stretch our creative minds and find new things we can do for Fenway," said Mark Lev, the president of Fenway Sports Management. "Baseball is at the core of everything we do. But to the extent we can use it for other events, it's a great thing."