FORT MYERS, Fla. – When the Lowell Spinners were contracted, or in layman’s terms became “unceremoniously extinct” after the lost COVID season in 2020, Shawn Smith was a free agent.
“That was a job I loved, working for Drew Weber, and servicing the Merrimack Valley and southern New Hampshire,” said Smith. “I loved going to work every day. That was a tough one, when we were contracted.”
His 14 years with the Spinners includes stints of 10 years and then 4½ more at the end of his tenure as general manager, mostly on the business side, kept him connected to the parent club, the Boston Red Sox.
“I was supposed to just be there five months in my second run with the Spinners, and Drew asked me if I’d come back while he was trying to sell the team,” said Smith, who spent nearly a dozen years as a VP in marketing, most of it related to the G-League. But that turned into five years.”
Smith did some consulting work in the sports/business industry prepping for the “next big thing” in his career, including doing some work with the Red Sox.
Come January of 2023, he was offered the chance by Red Sox C.O.O. Jonathan Gulila to become GM of the Red Sox Florida Operations, overseeing jetBlue Park in Fort Myers. The position had been open for nearly two years.
Calling it a dream job would be an understatement.
“The Red Sox are one of the great sports organizations in the world and to be here every day is one of my great pleasures in my career,” said Smith. “I look out of my office and I see a replica of Fenway Park every day, same dimensions, in fact several times a day.”
Everything that happens at jetBlue Park, other than the game inside the lines, goes through Smith’s desk.
In some ways, it’s a lot like his gig was at LeLacheur Park in Lowell.
“I’m not responsible for the wins and losses on the field,” said Smith. “But the objective from my seat is the fans winning and creating great memories for them.”
Smith recalls an interaction with a customer in Lowell a few years ago when he was with the Spinners. He was walking around the stadium concourse, like he always did during games, when a guy stops him, seeing his name tag and says, “Hey Shawn, you work here?”
“I said, ‘I sure do how can I help you?’” said Smith. “He said, ‘Can you get those beer lines down. They’re too long!’ I looked over and he was right. It was a hot day. So I go behind the counter and rolled up my sleeves and started serving beer.
“A few minutes later that same guy is in line and I hand him his beers. That’s our job. The only difference here is I don’t think Aramark would want me back there pouring beers here at jetBlue.”
Like Lowell had with its short-A season – mid June through August – the official Red Sox spring training season is about six weeks with 15 games at jetBlue Park.
But for the facilities, which include six practice fields that are used by their rookie league teams for six months and rentals for AAU tournaments, the season is really more like 10-plus months, with a dead period from middle of November to Jan. 1.
In fact, jetBlue Park has expanded its events, renting it out to many Lee County organizations, Roy Hobbs baseball tournaments, boat shows, etc.
Smith and his group are in discussions to follow the Fenway Park lead, hosting its first-ever concert – country singer Luke Bryan. He believes they could fit close to 19,000 fans into the park.
“We are very excited to try and make this happen, broaden our horizons,” said Smith. “To have Luke Bryan for our first big concert? That would be memorable.”
The “Fenway South” group is also looking into other business ventures in the Fort Myers area which sort of fits with Smith’s DNA.
“This is where I want to be, doing what I want to do, make our corner of the world a little better,” said Smith. “In my role, expand what we do.”
Smith, who resides with his wife, Heather, in Punta Gorda, Fla., about a 30-minute ride to the jetBlue Park offices, said the Florida lifestyle is now his lifestyle.
And this job, overseeing the “Fenway South” is one he will never take lightly.
“When I was younger, I didn’t really understand the job like I do now,” said Smith. “I always thought it was about making people happy, trying to be perfect. But the important part is relationships and the difference you can make in their lives. We have a chance of spreading that message here and that makes coming to work every day exciting.”
You can email Bill Burt at bburt@eagletribune.com.