Janet Marie Smith led strategic design thinking for phased renovations at Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox. America’s oldest major league ballpark was initially built in 1912 and in the 1990s, Fenway Park was slated for demolition with a decade of plans in place for a replacement. However, the ownership group that purchased the club in 2002 (led by John Henry, Tom Werner, and Larry Lucchino) had other ideas. Janet Marie Smith was brought in to assess the opportunity to save Fenway Park. Smith and her team mapped out a series of improvements that led to the preservation of the Fenway Park, helped transform the ballpark and its surrounding neighborhood, and created incremental revenue that could boost local economic impact rivaling any opportunities that may have come from building a new venue.

Ultimately a plan was put in place to renovate the ballpark that embraced the intimacy of the seating bowl while transforming the hallowed venue for a new era. Innovative concepts, such as the Green Monster Seats and the Right Field Roof Deck were highlights of the many changes that set the course for annual improvements to preserve, protect, and enhance the ballpark for generations to come.

Canopy Team’s roots were founded at Fenway Park – Fran Weld, Paul Hanlon, and Jon Dienstag were also part of the Red Sox front office throughout the years-long ballpark improvement plan.

The Fenway Park renovations were a prime example of collaboration across all levels of local government, business entities, community groups, architects, designers, and diverse stakeholders to collectively develop creative solutions. By navigating hurdles and obstacles and procuring myriad approvals and permissions, the ballpark evolved from an old relic into a modern, elevated civic gathering place. As part of its years-long improvement process, Fenway Park was also officially added to the National Register of Historic Places and, in parallel, over $80M in historic tax credits were unlocked in connection with renovations.