Red Sox owner John Henry questioned about safety of Fenway Park seats in court

[Fenway]

Henry did not help his case yesterday



Sox owner John Henry answered questions about whether the team put fans in danger when it removed the glass that covered the luxury boxes behind home plate in 2005.

"We took the glass off, we took the seats out. We just gutted it," Henry said Friday on the stand.

After the team removed the glass, ticket revenues for the new boxes more than doubled.
The removal also allowed baseballs to start flying into the once-protected area. One of those baseballs hit Stephanie Taubin, resulting in broken bones in her face and neurological damage.

According to Red Sox records, in the nine years after the glass came down, as many as 51 people in the boxes above home plate were hit and required medical attention.

Henry agreed with Taubin's attorney, who asked the team owner if he agreed that the area behind home plate became more dangerous after the glass was removed.

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[Fenway]

After what JWH said in court I thought the Sox would lose the case



Jury finds Boston Red Sox were not negligent in case of woman injured by foul ball at Fenway Park - The Boston Globe

Zineb Curran, a spokeswoman for the Red Sox, said the team welcomed the jury’s verdict.

“While we regret the injury Ms. Taubin sustained, we are pleased with today’s outcome,” Curran said in an e-mail. “The Dell/EMC Club is a safe and enjoyable area from which to watch a Red Sox game. Many of our valued fans, guests, and family and friends have enjoyed the space and return to it time and again.”

Curran added that fan safety “is an issue we take seriously, and since 2014, we have twice expanded our protective netting, and continue to evaluate the safety of all seating areas within the ballpark. We thank the jury and the court for their service in this matter.”

Henry earlier this month testified during the civil trial and acknowledged the club had removed glass that had previously shielded a section now known as the Dell EMC Club that is above grandstand seats behind home plate at Fenway, according to WCVB.

“We took the glass off, we took the seats out, we just gutted it,” he said, according to WCVB footage.

Henry was asked whether he agreed the area behind home plate became more dangerous after the glass was removed.

“Yes,” he said, according to a WCVB report.