MGM lands naming rights for Fenway Park performing arts venue
MGM Resorts International has landed the naming rights for a performing arts center at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox.
In a Wednesday press release, Fenway Sports Group Real Estate — a subsidiary of Fenway Sports Group, the parent company of the Red Sox — said the center, set to open in 2021, will be dubbed the MGM Music Hall at Fenway. The mixed-used venue will sit beyond Fenway Park’s right-field bleachers, and is set to host “a wide variety of live events,” with the ability to accommodate about 5,000 patrons.
The performing arts center “will offer the opportunity to partner with local schools, colleges, and other neighborhood organizations to create an epicenter for the performing arts community in Boston,” according to the release. The music hall will be owned by FSGRE and operated by Fenway Music Company, a joint venture between Fenway Sports Management and Live Nation.
“Fenway Park is among the most iconic ballparks in sports, and MGM Resorts is proud to grow our presence there,” MGM Chairman and CEO Jim Murren said in the release. “With exciting Major League Baseball action inside the ballpark, and with MGM Music Hall at Fenway wowing with performing arts outside, visitors can count on unforgettable experiences on both sides of the world-famous Green Monster.”
Construction is slated to begin later this month, with the company targeting completion in the fall of 2021.
While Major League Baseball has yet to bring a team in Las Vegas, the local casino operator has been pushing forward with various partnerships with the league. Last year, MGM became the MLB’s first official gaming partner, and was later named the “official and exclusive resort casino” of the Red Sox in March. That sponsorship put MGM’s logo on the Green Monster, the park’s 37.2-foot-tall, left-field wall, as well as messaging behind home plate, on Red Sox radio and on other team-sponsored media outlets.
FSG chairman Tom Werner said the company decided to partner with MGM because of its expertise in the entertainment and hospitality industries.
Those are “two things we hope to excel in with this new venue. We look forward to seeing their logo in bright lights on the marquee,” he said in the release.
Representatives from Wynn Resorts Ltd. have said the company has been contemplating third-party partnerships for an entertainment venue adjacent to the Encore Boston Harbor, which is about 5 miles from the park. MGM operates MGM Springfield in Massachusetts, which is located about 90 miles west of Fenway Park.
Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0233. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter.
