Deal Criticized for Giving Control of Nearby Streets to Boston Red Sox

Finance commission calls it "fiscally irresponsible"

The Boston Finance Commission wants Mayor Thomas M. Menino to block a vote on a $7.3 million deal between the Red Sox and the city for use of two public streets near Fenway Park, saying the agreement has been not sufficiently vetted and "will shackle generations of Bostonians to an agreement that over time will prove to be financially irresponsible."

In a letter to Menino dated Sept. 24, the commission's executive director, Matthew A. Cahill, objected to terms granting the Red Sox air rights over Lansdowne Street, behind the ballpark's left-field wall, and permission to close a 17,000-square-foot strip of Yawkey Way for gameday concession sales for as long as the baseball team plays at Fenway Park. The club would pay about $734,000 in each of the next 10 seasons — four times what the city has charged over the last 11 years — but would pay nothing after that.

Menino could not be immediately be reached for comment, but last week voiced support for the deal. The Red Sox did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

- See more at: http://www.boston.com/businessupdates/2013/09/25/boston-finance-commission-says-red-sox-deal-for-street-use-bad-deal-for-the-city/I7lhEu5jiFoA0tiuJzvCgK/story.html#sthash.bsSIprRz.dpuf