Fenway Park has long been a staple of Boston’s landscape, and is the home of the Boston Red Sox.
Although considered by many to be the heart of Red Sox Nation, Fenway actually has a long history of hosting other sporting events besides baseball over the last 113 years.
Built in 1912, Fenway Park is the oldest, active ballpark in Major League Baseball.
Despite having a total capacity as one of the smallest MLB parks in use, Fenway Park has proven itself to be a much sought after venue for events other than baseball.
American football has been played at Fenway Park since its opening in 1912.
Various Boston football teams, including teams from the American Football League and the National Football League, regularly played at Fenway until the late 1960’s.
Even the Boston Patriots, now known as the New England Patriots, called Fenway Park home from 1963 to 1968 after moving from Nickerson Field.
In recent years, various New England college football teams have played games at Fenway, including the 2018 annual Harvard/Yale game.
Soccer was also played at Fenway Park as early as 1925, hosting various games for soccer clubs and teams from the mid 1920’s until the early 1930’s.
In May of 1967, soccer returned to Fenway for the exhibition games hosted by the National Professional Soccer League. This event benefited the Red Sox primary charity, The Jimmy Fund.
By 1968, Fenway regularly transformed from a baseball park to a soccer stadium, as it was the home of the soccer team, the Boston Beacons, of the now defunct North American Soccer League.
Many may have thought that the only fight that a Fenway fan would witness was between a coach and an umpire during a home plate call, but boxing also has a history at Fenway Park.
On Oct. 9, 1920, Fenway hosted the first open-air boxing show in Boston.
Boxing continued to be a special event at Fenway from the 1920’s until the mid 1950’s.
It wasn’t until June 7, 2025, that boxing returned to Fenway with a boxing event titled “Fight Night at Fenway.”
This event included 11 bouts, notably including the first professional women’s boxing match held at Fenway.
Despite the fact that Fenway was built solely for the “boys of summer,” Fenway has been successful in becoming the perfect venue for several winter sports.
Fenway has been a two-time host of the NHL Winter Classic, in both 2010 and 2013. Both of these ice hockey events featured a winning performance by the Boston Bruins.
Hosting the Winter Classic opened the door to use the ballpark for the “Frozen Fenway Series.”
This semi-annual hockey series features hockey teams from local and regional high schools, colleges, and universities.
In fact, the Tewksbury Memorial High School’s boys ice hockey team participated in the 2023 Frozen Fenway Series, facing the Northern Highlands High School from New Jersey.
Surprisingly, ice hockey isn’t the only winter sport hosted at Fenway.
Fenway has hosted a ski and snowboard event for the International Ski Federation’s 2016 U.S. Grand Prix Tour and FI’s World Cup Tour, which attracted top level ski and snowboard athletes from around the world.
A big air jump was constructed in the park to be 140 feet tall, standing above the lights of the stadium.
Although most of the snow that was used for the jump was man-made, mother nature provided a natural snowstorm about a week before the event, which added an element of natural snow to the ramp’s surface.
Even lesser known sporting events have had the privilege of playing in historic Fenway Park.
The sport of Hurling has appeared on the lawn of Fenway on several occasions since 1937. Most recently, the Fenway Hurling Classic was held in November of 2018.
Fenway has certainly been an iconic symbol for the sporting world, however, sport games are not the only events that frequent Fenway Park.
Fenway is now known as a preferred venue for many musical performers.
Music is a fairly new event at the ballpark, becoming popular in the past 20 years or so.
Although the Newport Jazz Festival took place in Fenway Park in 1973, Fenway was not considered a concert venue until the Red Sox team was purchased by John Henry in 2002.
Henry, an avid guitar player, recognized that Fenway Park would draw rock superstars as a music theater. He also realized that concerts were an untapped revenue maker for the ballpark.
Bruce Springsteen was the first major headliner to perform at Fenway in 2003.
This concert by The Boss was such a success, that it opened the flood gates for prime performers to appear on the Red Sox’s field over the next few decades.
Fenway has been the chosen performance venue for such superstars as Jimmy Buffett, The Rolling Stones, Neil Diamond, Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, and the “Bad Boys of Boston” a.k.a. Aerosmith.
The first woman to headline at Fenway Park was Lady Gaga in 2017, opening the door for other female performers like Pink and Joan Jett.
Most recently, Fenway Park performers have included such popular names as Noah Kahan, Kenny Chesney, and the Foo Fighters in 2024, and the Jonas Brothers, Hozier and The Who in 2025.
As summer turns to autumn, Red Sox Nation is hopeful to see some playoff action at Fenway Park this fall.
Besides enjoying any possible post-season baseball, Fenway Park will also be the venue for the band My Chemical Romance on Sept. 7, The Secretaries’ Cup Football Game between the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy on Nov. 15, and the match up of Holy Cross vs. Georgetown football game on Nov. 22.
Information on concerts and events for the 2026 season at Fenway Park will be announced sometime at the end of 2025.
After the Red Sox hang up their cleats at the end of this baseball season, be sure not to miss out on all the sporting and musical events Fenway Park has to offer during the upcoming year.
Interested sport and music fans are advised to monitor the official Red Sox website for information on the 2026 Fenway event season at www.mlb.com.