At first glance, a trip to Fenway Park with a group of friends can be expensive. The cheapest ticket for a game in June 2024 sits at $18, but when searching for three or four seats together, prices jump to almost twice as much per ticket.
Add transportation, parking and the inevitable Fenway Frank for $6.25, and a trip to the ballpark becomes a hefty expense for the everyday fan.
Luckily, the Red Sox offer a special student discount program for college students, known as Student 9s. The discounted $9 ticket is available on the Red Sox website for any student registering for the program.
“I have used it quite a few times,” Zachary Mathews, a senior at Boston University said. “It’s very convenient because I don’t have a lot of money.”
Mathews said he first heard about the ticket offer on his tour of BU as a prospective transfer.
“Once I got here, I took advantage of it the first time they came out. I’ve been kind of going ever since,” he said.
Once students enroll in the Student 9s program, they have the option of signing up to receive notifications via email or text, as the discounted tickets are only offered for certain games, according to WBZ News.
With the student discount ticket program comes a shift in the demographic of fans and the overall atmosphere at the ballpark.
Mathews compared Fenway Park to his experiences at the San Francisco Giants’ Oracle Park.
“Oracle [Park] is a lot more laid back and very scenic,” he said. “A lot of older people, as opposed to Fenway, especially where the Student 9s are, it’s a lot more hectic, a little more fun.”
Most Student 9 tickets are in the bleachers in right field and provide a unique experience for fans.
“I’m not really a baseball fan, I just went for the social experience,” Ahemed Bullo, a junior at BU said. “It was good, I enjoyed my time and watched a good game.”
Bullo said going to Red Sox games, even as a non-baseball fan, can be an escape from the busyness of college life.
“[The games] give you something to get away from,” he said. “If I have a stressful week, I think going forward I’m going to implement going to a Red Sox game, even if it’s just by myself to release and just come back down to earth and chill out for a little bit.”
Another reason why visiting Fenway Park is so easy for BU students is its proximity to campus.
“I live right on the Green Line so that you can take it straight there,” Margo Stanton, a 2024 BU graduate said. “I’ve also walked, and the BU Bus goes close by so there’s a lot of ways to get there.”
The Kenmore Green Line Stop and the BU Bus stop outside the Metcalf Center for Science and Engineering both offer easy access to and from the ballpark.
At the start of June, the Red Sox sit in third place in the American League East division, eleven-and-a-half games behind the division-leading and rival New York Yankees. They sit three-and-a-half games back of the third and final Wild Card spot.
While many experts thought the team would finish last place in the division for the third straight year, the Red Sox find themselves in the heat of the playoff race mid-season.
The Red Sox have blown expectations out of the water despite facing several injuries throughout the first 50 games of the year. Shortstop Trevor Story dislocated his left shoulder in the team’s first series of the season in April and starting pitcher Lucas Giolito, who the team traded for during the offseason, is out for the entire season after partially tearing his UCL.
The team also signed closer Liam Hendriks, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery and may also miss much of the 2024 season. First baseman Tristan Casas and left fielder Masataka Yoshida have also missed time due to injury.
Despite significant losses from the injury bug, the team continues to play well, thanks to a successful change in pitching philosophy that has led to fewer fastballs and has kept the team at a .500 winning percentage.
Regardless of the team’s performance, the Red Sox still have support from the student demographic within their fan base.
“The tickets are super cheap, you can go with friends, and it’s a really fun sports experience, especially with BU because we don’t have a football team,” Stanton said. “Even before and after the games, the streets are full, and there are a ton of students and a ton of people, so it’s definitely a really cool college experience.”
