How to Get Tickets to see the Red Sox Baseball Team

The Boston Red Sox boast a professional-sports record of 793 consecutive sellouts entering the 2013 season. Fenway Park seats 37,493 for night games and 37,065 for day games, so it can accommodate about 3.1 million fans over the course of its 81-game regular season.

The Red Sox have sold out every game at Fenway Park since May 15, 2003. The fact that Fenway Park is one of the smallest stadiums in Major League Baseball has helped. So has their policy of declaring sellouts even when some tickets are not sold but are instead distributed for free.

According to chief operating officer Sam Kennedy, the Red Sox cap season ticket sales at 20,000 (there's a waiting list of 7,000). That leaves over 17,000 tickets available to be sold for each game.

Thus, despite the record sellout streak and a years-long season ticket waiting list, you can still get tickets to see the Red Sox baseball team play at Fenway Park. But that's not to say it will be easy or inexpensive, especially for marquee games against popular rivals like the New York Yankees.

The first place to look for tickets is the Red Sox ticket site, which starts selling tickets in January. You can print out individual tickets at home immediately after purchasing them. The site charges a $7.00 per order processing fee.

You may be surprised to find the game you wish to attend is not yet sold out. This is particularly true if you act early and don't have your heart set on a marquee game like the season opener or any game against the Yankees. For example, today (February 13, 2013), the site still has tickets available for 71 of the 81 regular-season games.

You're more likely to be successful when buying a smaller number of tickets, with single tickets the easiest to find. There is a limit of ten single-game tickets per person.

You're also more likely to find higher-priced tickets. Lower-priced bleacher or upper-bleacher tickets tend to sell out soon after they go on sale in January.

While the Red Sox have frozen 2013 ticket prices at their 2012 levels (perhaps in response to posting their worst season in 2012 in nearly 50 years), don't expect them to be cheap. The average ticket price for 2012 was a Major League leading $53.38. Individual ticket prices range from a low of $12.00 for the upper bleachers to a high of $165.00 for a seat above the Green Monster in left field.

If the game you wish to attend is already sold out on the official Red Sox ticket site, your next stop should be Ace Ticket. Ace offers a large inventory of tickets, including tickets for sold out games. However, expect to pay a premium for these tickets, which rises with the popularity of the game. The Ace website also adds a 7% service charge on purchases, which is lower than many of its competitors.

Ace offers a 200% money-back guarantee on the validity of any tickets purchased from them. This guarantee eliminates one of the major risks of buying tickets from unofficial sources.

Ace offers several convenient ways to get your purchased tickets. The best way may be to pick up your tickets at the Ace office located just two blocks from Fenway Park. This pick up option is free.

Repeat customers can take advantage of Ace's Loyalty Points program. Every time you order from Ace, you earn 5% of that order in Loyalty Points which can be used towards a future order.

StubHub is another popular site for buying Red Sox tickets on the secondary market. StubHub allows anyone to sell their tickets at whatever price they wish. As with Ace Ticket, many of the tickets are sold at a premium depending on the popularity of the game. StubHub charges a 10% commission, although this commission is folded into the ticket price for games included in its "What you see is what you pay" program.

Under its FanProtect program, StubHub guarantees the validity of tickets purchased through its site. If the ticket turns out to be invalid, they'll either replace it with a comparable ticket or issue a refund.

You can buy Red Sox tickets directly from other people on online sites like eBay or Craigslist. eBay prices tend to be higher, but Craigslist tickets tend to be riskier since there's no guarantee of validity. One strategy is to arrange a meeting with the seller near the park to complete the transaction so you can get a good look at the ticket before paying (though forgeries can be difficult to distinguish from the real thing).

The Red Sox sell a limited number of tickets starting two hours before each game. The tickets are sold at Gate E of Fenway Park, located on Lansdowne Street.

Unfortunately, you'll need to arrive early to increase your odds of buying a day-of-game ticket. Fans often start lining up four or five hours before the game, with longer queues for more popular games.

There is a limit of one ticket per person, so everyone in your party needs to wait in line. There is also no assurance your tickets will be together. The tickets may be singles, standing room only, or obstructed sight-line tickets. That said, you may get a bargain as the tickets are sold at face value.

If the tickets are sold out before you get to the window, at least you can watch the game on TV at one of the many establishments near Fenway Park.

Scalping tickets is illegal in Massachusetts, but that's not to say it doesn't happen.

Ticket scalping is very fluid, with prices changing frequently depending on demand. Its not uncommon for prices to change hour-by-hour or even minute-by-minute, with prices plunging after the start of the game (if there are still tickets available).

There's no guarantee that tickets bought from a scalper will be valid. Buyer beware.