Future of PawSox still up in the air After a year of studies and negotiations, the team’s owners came up with plan to remain in Rhode Island, but deal for ballpark hinges on Statehouse leadership
PAWTUCKET – The path to a new ballpark for the Pawtucket Red Sox has been long, winding, and arrayed with numerous roadblocks.
After a 2017 season that marked the 75th anniversary of McCoy Stadium, news about the ballpark pursuit took over. Serious attention was paid by Rhode Island lawmakers in the form of 10 public hearings in a little more than a month about financing legislation for a replacement for venerable McCoy – “the grand dame has done her job,” proclaimed PawSox vice chairman Mike Tamburro – that would ensure the club stays put in Pawtucket.
As the leave-no-stone-unturned process got underway, there was hope that a clear direction regarding the longterm future of the PawSox would be established before the calendar flipped to 2018. Alas, the local Triple-A franchise heads into the new year with a future that like a fly ball remains up in the air.
“The motivation for everyone who has been actively involved in the negotiations and discussions has been to give Rhode Island the first and best chance to make this work going forward,” said PawSox Chairman Larry Lucchino in a 1-on-1 interview with The Times.
The entire hearing process entailed roughly 40 hours of testimony between the Rhode Island Senate and House Fi- nance Committees and the Pawtucket City Council. An overwhelming majority threw their support behind the $83-million proposal for the PawSox to relocate to a mostly vacant department store site that sits downtown less than one mile from McCoy Stadium.
The final tally from the 10 hearings was 217 pro, 47 con, and three undecided. The all-encompassing public re- view also saw the PawSox produce and submit five document presentations that tackled many of the pertinent issues that have been raised throughout this challenging endeavor.
“The notion that some hearings struck us as prudent and appropriate, but I’ve joked with people that some
nations go to war with less legislative deliberation than this [PawSox] ballpark has received,” said Lucchino.
Breaking down the deal that was unveiled last spring at a press conference near Slater Mill, the $45 million contribution by the PawSox would be the largest single private investment in the history of Pawtucket and account for 54 percent of the proposal. Rhode Island would contribute $23 million (28 percent) and the City of Pawtucket would be on the hook for $15 million (18 percent). The club will also pay for any ballpark construction cost overruns.
As the hearings concluded, a new twist emerged.
After initially declining to disclose certain financial statements, the PawSox agreed to share the team’s consolidated balance sheet with the Senate and House Finance Committees and its certified financial statements with the state’s Auditor General under the condition that no proprietary information be made public.
“The length of the game keeps getting extended,” said Lucchino. “The ball is in the state’s court at this point as far as where they want to go.”
The willingness on the PawSox’ part to continue to “play ball” with Rhode Island comes at a time when the club is receiving relocation overtures from additional New England cities, the loudest emanating from nearby Worcester. It’s a transparent fine line that’s been walked ever since June 30 when the exclusive negotiating window between the team and the city of Pawtucket expired after the R.I. State Legislature elected to place the ballpark bill on the backburner.
Besides Worcester, several fadditional Massachusetts cities – Weymouth, Brockton, Attleboro, and the Fall River/New Bedford area – have
“This city is poised to take off and that’s where a well-located and well-designed ballpark can accelerate growth.”
come forward and expressed a willingness to host the PawSox.
“We put everyone off because we wanted to see if we can make this work in Pawtucket first until the timetable changed in June,” said Lucchino. “We announced publicly that we were going to talk to cities and towns that had approached us.”
Through all the twists and turns, the PawSox remain firmly committed to staying put in Pawtucket. Time, however, is becoming more of a pressing issue. The team’s lease at McCoy Stadium will expire after the 2020 season. Earlier this month, the PawSox expressed regret that due to the General Assembly still contemplating how to proceed, the original April 2020 target date to be in a new home is officially off the table.
“We are trying to be patient with the Rhode Island process,” said Lucchino.
Securing new, state-ofthe-art digs hasn’t been a PawSox-only led effort. Unlike the team’s unsuccessful 2015 change-of-address efforts from McCoy Stadium to downtown Providence, the second bite at the apple has featured a collaborative effort with the club working in conjunction with city and state leaders. An arrangement where multiple parties would have significant skin in the game was triggered upon reviewing a clause in a 2014 lease agreement the PawSox signed with the city that stipulated a feasibility study of McCoy.
The study that was released in Jan. 2017 pointed the PawSox in the direction of a site that’s located in downtown Pawtucket and easily accessible and visible from the highway. PawSox officials have also touted the Ballpark at Slater Mill as a facility with year-round uses and ancillary development such as shops, hotels, and restaurants that would surround a new Triple-A locale. As part of the agreement, the PawSox would sign a 30-year lease and pledge to keep ticket prices stable for the first five years of the new ballpark.
“This city is poised to take off and that’s where a well-located and well-designed ballpark can accelerate growth,” said Lucchino.
In late December, Pawtucket mayor Donald R. Grebien held a press conference in City Hall where he issued his latest plea for the General Assembly to pass legislation for the PawSox ballpark. If state leaders aren’t going to step up to the plate, Grebien unveiled a plan that would allow Pawtucket to finance the entire $38 million public portion of the ballpark deal.
“I am increasingly concerned about the City of Worcester. The State of Massachusetts understands the value of this franchise. In fact, Governor Charlie Baker switched from his original position of ‘no’ to making a state commitment to steal the franchise,” said Grebien in a letter that was sent out one day after the Senate Finance Committee released its findings on Dec. 7. “Pawtucket is a city on the move and we need the state to do what’s right for the Blackstone Valley.”
Looking ahead to 2018, the Senate Finance Committee plans to take a vote on the proposed ballpark legislation the first week in January when the General Assembly returns to session, which would move it to the full Senate. Currently, there’s no timeline for the House Finance Committee or the full House.