WHEREAS,  April 20, 2012 marked the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park, home of Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox; and

WHEREAS,  the State of Maine is proud to be part of what is known as Red Sox Nation, the most loyal and devoted fan base in baseball, and Mainers attend games each season at Fenway Park in Boston in great numbers; and

WHEREAS,  Fenway Park is near Kenmore Square in Boston and is the oldest Major League Baseball park currently in use and the oldest venue used by a professional sports team in the United States; and

WHEREAS,  Fenway Park has had many renovations and additions over the years, resulting in unique and quirky features, including "The Triangle," "Pesky's Pole" and most notably the famous "Green Monster" in left field; and

WHEREAS,  as the noted American author John Updike described it, Fenway Park is "a lyric little bandbox of a ballpark. Everything is painted green and seems in curiously sharp focus, like the inside of an old-fashioned peeping-type Easter egg"; and

WHEREAS,  the Boston Red Sox have sold out every home game since May 15, 2003 and Fenway Park sold out its 456th consecutive Red Sox game in 2008, breaking a Major League Baseball record, and currently has over 700 consecutive sellouts; and

WHEREAS,  with the 4th lowest seating capacity and 2nd lowest total capacity of any Major League Baseball venue and its narrow foul ground and close outfield fences, Fenway Park provides an intimate setting for spectators, who have watched the Red Sox post a winning record in each of the past 14 seasons; and

WHEREAS,  on March 7, 2012, Fenway Park was added to the National Register of Historic Places; now, therefore, be it