Place bonding, fan identification, nostalgia and Fenway's future: Observations about Red Sox Nation

Fenway Park celebrated its one hundredth birthday at the start of the 2012 baseball season. It has hosted many historic moments and holds a special place in the hearts of avid baseball fans, but it cannot go on forever serving the needs of the Red Sox organization. At some point, it will need to be refurbished, rebuilt or replaced. Nostalgia, place bonding, and fan identification with the team are all potential factors affecting what individuals believe should be the future of the stadium.;We live in nostalgic times, which may be due to our aging population in the United States or the unsettling times in which we live. Regardless of the cause, nostalgia is something that businesses consider when making decisions, for example, companies marketing retro versions of their products. Fan identification is strong among Red Sox fans, perhaps as strong if not stronger than for any other team in professional sports. Boston residents often hold buildings and places in high regard. However, few researchers have empirically examined the connection between fan identification, nostalgia, and place bonding with a professional sports stadium. Thus, this study set out to empirically examine the levels of fan identification, nostalgia, and place bonding among Greater Boston residents and their influence on people's attitudes toward potential future modifications of Fenway Park. Data were collected using an on-line survey via a link posted on the websites of two major Boston newspapers yielding 409 respondents.;The results, generated by the use of frequencies, ANOVAs and MANOVA, provide a more in-depth understanding of the relationship between attitudes toward future modifications of Fenway Park and fan identification, nostalgia, and place bonding. Overall, a majority of respondents were in favor of retaining the current structure with modifications and updates. This attitude corresponded with certain levels of fan identification, nostalgia, and place bonding. The findings support the supposition that significant relationships exist between how an individual feels about future modifications of Fenway Park and each of these factors. In addition, results indicated high levels of fan identification, nostalgia, and place bonding among most respondents. It is suggested that future research should attempt to gain access to a more diverse sampling of Greater Boston residents and/or Red Sox Nation fans in addition to replicating this study with other sporting facilities to aid in determining the generalizability of the results.