After a tough 2020 season, the Boston Red Sox are first in the American League East.

“We don’t want to dwell on last year,” said David Friedman, Senior Vice President, Legal and Government Affairs for the Red Sox, at last week’s Red Sox neighborhood meeting.

Luckily things are looking up. And there’s a lot planned for Fenway Park besides baseball.

Beginning August 3 through October 1, Fenway will host seven concerts, featuring Guns N’ Roses, Billy Joel, Hella Mega Tour, New Kids on the Block, Zac Brown Band, Maroon 5, and the Jonas Brothers.

Many of the concerts were planned for last summer. When Governor Baker announced in late May that venues could open at full capacity, “that was a major step and gave us good confidence that these shows wouldn’t get canceled or get pushed off to next year. Before that, we had no idea,” Friedman said.

There will likely be more shows announced soon. Other upcoming Fenway Park events include a movie night on August 18th, a Red Cross Blood Drive and Run to Home Base in September, and high school football games in November. For the first time, the park will host “Fenway Bowl” in December, featuring college football teams from the American Athletic Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference “There are some residents who’d prefer not to see the kind of list we described,” Friedman said. “Our goal is baseball, but we’re also proud of and spend a lot of time on non-baseball stuff. Our philosophy is to use Fenway Park for amazing, special, memorable events that impact people’s lives.”

At the neighborhood meeting, Friedman and Sonya Bhabhalia, Government and Legal Affairs assistant, addressed traffic, trash pickup and the noise level of concerts. This year the Sox will pay for an additional traffic enforcement unit from the Boston Transportation Department to enforce parking at concerts. Trash pickup will take place at the end of concerts, which finish by 10:30pm.

While complaints about noise come in each concert season, the number has gone down over the years, Friedman said. In 2019, complaints were recorded for two of six concerts, down from eight of ten concerts the previous year. For all concerts, there is a hotline available to call with any concerns.

“We’re not perfect, we’re never going to make everyone happy; but if there’s anything we can do, send us an email or give us a call,” Friedman said. Friedman also touched on sports betting legislation, which passed last week 156-3 in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Similar bills have passed in over two dozen states.

“There’s been this cloud of cheating in sports betting,” Friedman said. “But we think the integrity of the game is actually enhanced by legalizing it. And it’s a good way to engage fans.” If the legislation passes, the Sox would consider supporting a sports betting venue nearby Fenway.

“We think it’s an idea worth exploring,” Friedman said. “We’d want to make sure it fits with the community here. Our goal would be to do this in a tasteful way.”