Grebien stays positive about PawSox

Hoping ballpark legislation makes it to Senate for financing, leading to fall session

PAWTUCKET — Mayor Donald R. Grebien on Friday expressed optimism that legislation will be introduced in the Senate this week for the financing of a new Pawtucket Red Sox ballpark, with the hope that the General Assembly will commit to vet the bill publicly during a special session this fall.

Without a fall session, the mayor said, it’s entirely possible that it may drive the PawSox out of Pawtucket and altogether from Rhode Island.

Grebien said that the draft legislation has been revised and finalized, and it is waiting to be introduced by Senate Finance Committee Chairman and District 18 state Sen. William J. Conley Jr. The mayor said his hope is that if nothing is approved this session, he’d like a commitment that the bill will be discussed in a fall session.

“We have a finalized draft bill up there to be introduced into the Senate and House side,” Grebien said in a phone interview with The Times. “It’s almost a given if they do not introduce something that the PawSox wouldn’t be here any longer after the contract runs out.”

“If they don’t, we have no leverage with the PawSox, no credibility to keep them here,” he continued. “I’m hopeful they’re going to introduce the legislation this week with a commitment to come back with a fall session.”

The stadium's financing plan called for the PawSox to commit $45 million for the construction costs, with city and team officials touting that the ballpark would be selfsufficient, requiring no new taxes. The state's $23 million portion was to be paid for and exceeded by revenues generated by the ballpark, ballclub, and project, officials have said, while Pawtucket would contribute up to $15 million, a large portion of which would be to secure the land on which the ballpark would be constructed. In total, the ballpark and land would have cost $83 million.

The stadium would be city-owned and the PawSox as part of the deal proposed to commit to remain in Pawtucket for a 30-year extension through 2050. Additionally, the PawSox' ownership group committed to pay for any construction cost overruns.

Grebein said he’s “very optimistic” that the legislation would be discussed in a fall session. However, he also said that it would have to be a fall session because he’s unsure that the PawSox would be willing to maintain a level of commitment to Pawtucket and the Ocean State. The mayor previously has said that the franchise would “stay monogamous” until July 1.

Grebien said he has yet to get to the point of conversations with the PawSox about whether they’d extend that deadline, saying “we haven’t seen the bill introduced. It’s not fair for the PawSox, who’ve committed to Pawtucket and Rhode Island … If there’s not a bill introduced and a fall session, I believe we’ve driven the PawSox out of Pawtucket and out of Rhode Island.”

A spokesman for the PawSox said the organization had no comment on the matter.

Grebien said that a fall ses- sion and an opportunity to publicly vet the legislation “goes to credibility.”

“I think this is about keeping the PawSox franchise here in Rhode Island, keeping the existing dollars here in Rhode Island, building on that and revitalizing our Pawtucket. All of that makes sense, so it’s hard for the PawSox to invest in Rhode Island if there’s nothing out there to invest in or commit to,” the mayor said. “I’ve been advocating to have this vetted. I think it’s a great, very strong agreement. There was a lot of hard work through Commerce RI and for it not to be introduced or heard or vetted is unfair to them and unfair to the community.”

Grebien, who has largely been fighting this battle independently, as one of the lone elected officials to support the stadium financing, said there has been a certain level of frustration for the bill not to be heard by the General Assembly, despite the financ- ing being announced publicly more than a month ago.

“To the credit of Commerce RI who wrote this with us, who partnered with us, and came up with this proposal to be vetted, they’ve been there since day one. For the General Assembly to not allow this to be heard definitely is where my frustration is coming from,” he said. “It’s not fair to Pawtucket, it’s not fair to the PawSox, it’s not fair to Rhode Island.”

“I think there’s frustration across the board to not even have that opportunity to have it vetted when so many put time and effort into it,” the mayor later added. “I’ve been out there advocating. We want the state to give Pawtucket its chance to reinvent itself and reinvest in itself just like other communi- ties. To not even allow it to be vetted in the public, that’s the frustration.”

Grebien sensed a level of malaise in the aftermath of the 38 Studios debacle but he said people should not be afraid to invest in something like the PawSox, which he said could bring 500,000 people to Rhode Island annually and could cost the state about $2 million in revenue if they depart.

“A lot of times what we’ve done is we’ve taken it for granted because it’s been here,” Grebien said of the PawSox. “There’s many states and communities that would love to have this organization and we have an opportunity. We don’t want to lose them.”

A public vetting on the financing in the fall, he said, would give people who are confused or concerned about the bill the chance to understand it. The mayor referenced meeting a woman in Cranston last week and she told the mayor she had concerns about the agreement. However, once he explained it to her and how the new stadium would “pay for itself,” the woman said “Wow, that makes sense to me.”

“Hopefully we’ll get that opportunity in a fall session with all eyes on that to be able to eliminate fears and misunderstandings,” Grebien said. “At the end of the day, everyone’s got to put the political fears away. At the end of the day, we’ll all band together and let people hear it because Pawtucket deserves a chance.”