Lucchino: Fenway selllout streak appears in jeopardy
The longest sellout streak in American professional sports is likely to end in April.
The Boston Red Sox have gone 793 consecutive games with capacity crowds in Fenway Park since May 2003, but team president Larry Lucchino expects the 10-year run to "rest in peace" shortly after the 2013 season begins.
"That's not such a terrible thing," he said, according to ESPN.com. "It's an extraordinary accomplishment."
Lucchino acknowledged that the Red Sox have struggled to sell tickets during the offseason. The home opener on April 8 most likely will sell out, but the second game of the season in Fenway on April 10 is where the streak could stop.
"Of course, April weather doesn't help a lot," Lucchino said in Fort Myers, Fla., at the Red Sox's spring training complex. "We have a lot of home games in April, and it could be as early as the second (game), but I do expect it to be in that first or second week."
The previous sellout record in U.S. pro sports was 744 by the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers. The Red Sox eclipsed that mark last June.
Lucchino believes winning will bring more fans back to Fenway. Last year, the Red Sox slumped to a 69-93 record and finished last in the American League East.
"If we have the kind of successful franchise, the successful team that we think we'll have, people will jump back into the ballpark, albeit a later time in the season than they have historically," he said.
