BOSTON (AP) – The Boston Red Sox, who missed the playoffs in 2006 for the first time in four years, announced on Friday that they will keep ticket prices the same next season for four out of every five seats in the majors’ oldest and smallest ballpark.

Only Fenway Park’s premium seats – those closest to the field between the dugouts and in the upper deck clubs behind home plate – will go up in price. The cost for the popular Monster Seats and in a right-field roof restaurant has not been determined.

That leaves a total of 30,155 tickets per game available for 2007 at the same price as ’06, or 81.5 percent of the seats in the ballpark – the largest such percentage in 10 years.

“Our challenge is to protect those lower prices for fans and families on a tight budget while still improving revenue,” Red Sox president Larry Lucchino said. “We still must compete with those with much deeper pockets, and we still must continue to make improvements to Fenway Park.

“We are fortunate that our loyal fans have demonstrated that there is a market for the high-end seats, and those fans are helping us keep tickets as low as $12.”

The Red Sox have sold out 307 consecutive home games – the second-longest streak in major league history – despite charging the highest average ticket price.