Fenway area set to fight Buffett date tailgate idea

As city officials meet today to consider a plan that would make Jimmy Buffett the second rocker to play Fenway Park in a year, local officials and neighborhood activists are protesting a proposal by Mayor Thomas M. Menino to create a "Parrothead Village," a designated area where fans can tailgate before the concert.

Earlier this month, city officials said the Red Sox applied for entertainment licenses to stage two concerts, on Sept. 10 and 12. The concerts would follow the path blazed by Bruce Springsteen's sold-out shows last summer in the historic ballpark.

Neighborhood leaders don't object to the Red Sox bringing Buffett to Fenway. They just don't want thousands of fans rolling into their neighborhood in recreational vehicles and opening up their own bars on local streets and parking lots, they say.

"I'm against any tailgating whatsoever," said City Councilor Michael P. Ross, who represents the Fenway and Kenmore neighborhoods. "I won't support the concert unless there's no tailgating, and unless it's printed on the tickets, `No Tailgating.' "

Seth Gitell, a spokesman for the mayor, who is a Buffett fan, promised that planning for the concert will heed neighbors' concerns.

"The mayor is very excited about Jimmy Buffett coming to Boston," said Gitell. "The planning process is not complete, and I'm confident the process will take into account the issues raised."

Red Sox officials declined to comment last night on the proposed concert.

The main concerns for community activists are the toll a Parrothead Village might take on local businesses and their worry that tailgaters would tie up city streets and be too rowdy for the neighborhood.

They also said they want the Red Sox to change the way the next Fenway Park concert is staged. Neighbors want to ensure that the sound system used will contain the noise better than the amplifiers used for the Springsteen concert. They also want a better traffic and shuttle system, and they want the Sunday concert to end by 9 p.m.

"This is a neighborhood of residents; it's laughable anyone would suggest there would be tailgating parties here," said Lauren Dewey Platt, a member of the Fenway Family Coalition.

She said she wouldn't support tailgating in the area even if the city confined it to one or a few parking lots. "The problem is, the biggest parking lot can only hold a few hundred people," Platt said. "What if there isn't enough parking space? Will there be a spillover? What will happen?"

For Ed Burke, executive secretary of the West Fenway Business Association, the principal objection to mass tailgating is the possibility it would damage local businesses, many of which rely on big events at Fenway.

"Tailgaters usually have their own little clique," Burke said. "They bring their RVs in and open their bars right there. We want their business."

The hearing about the concert will be held tomorrow morning in City Hall, at the Mayor's Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing. A decision on the permit is expected in about one month.