Here’s Why Beer Is So Expensive at Fenway Park

Photo by Kent Goldman on Flickr/Creative Commons

Ask any Red Sox fan, and they’ll tell you: beer at Fenway Park isn’t cheap.

In fact, Fenway Park has some of the highest beer prices in Major League Baseball. Last year, the Red Sox had the most expensive “small” beer—$7.75 for 12 ounces. (The Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs charge the same price for 21 oz. and 16 oz. beers, respectively.)

Red Sox president Sam Kennedy joined 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher and Rich this week and offered an explanation.

“We tried to balance the need to generate as much revenue as possible at Fenway to invest in really two areas: the product on the field—as you know, we’ve had one of the highest payrolls in all of baseball in our time here—number one, and number two, we’ve invested revenues to the tune of $300 million-plus into the preservation and protection of Fenway,” Kennedy said.

While Kennedy admitted that concessions at Fenway are a tad pricier, he maintained that prices are in-line with other sports and entertainment venues across New England, like Gillette Stadium. Co-host Rich Shertenlieb quickly noted that while the L.A. Dodgers have a similarly bloated payroll, they charge half as much for a beer than the Red Sox do.

“Well I definitely won’t comment on the Los Angeles Dodgers. We’re focused on the operations at Fenway,” Kennedy said.

Asked if beer will ever be cheaper at Fenway Park, Kennedy said it’s “probably not something we’ll do,” and to expect gradual increases in years to come.

“We don’t seem to have too much pushback on the beer prices,” he said.