House caucus debates PawSox ballpark bill
PROVIDENCE – Following a closed-door caucus with House Democrats called by House Speaker Nicholas A. Mattiello, four state represen
tatives from Pawtucket have pledged to work with their colleagues in the House to further revise legislation that would support the financing of a new Pawtucket Red Sox ballpark.
The four representatives – District 58 State Rep. Carlos E. Tobon, District 59 State Rep. Jean Philippe Barros, District 61 State Rep. Raymond H. Johnston Jr., and District 62 State Rep. Mary Duffy Messier – on Thursday made a pledge to work with fellow representatives to “further revise legislation that would provide public support for a new baseball stadium in downtown Pawtucket in order to reduce the risk to taxpayers,” state officials said.
“This deal has greatly improved from the original proposal that was made last year, but I do see some room for improvement,” Johnston said. “I’m particularly gratified that the legislation that’s now before the House directs $250,000 of the ballpark naming rights revenue to the city of Pawtucket to assist with its annual debt service payment.”
Barros, meanwhile, said: “Not only is this investment revenue neutral, meaning it will pay for itself, but this will be an economic boon to downtown Pawtucket. The legislation, which could even be made stronger, requires any future lease to provide a provision that the team develop a minimum of 50,000 square feet of real estate along with the building of the ballpark.”
The caucus on Thursday afternoon was called by the House Speaker as he wanted to learn more about how his fellow state representatives
felt about the stadium proposal. The caucus came two days after the Senate voted 26 to 9 to approve a pair of bills regarding the $83 million ballpark proposal.
The first bill was a joint resolution that authorizes the state to enter into finance and lease payment agreements in connection with the construction of a ballpark on Apex land in downtown Pawtucket. The second, meanwhile, is an act relating to towns and cities, permits redevelopment agencies to finance the construction of projects for residential, recreational, commercial, industrial, institutional, public, or other purposes contemplated by a redevelopment plan.
While the Senate and its nine-member Finance Committee gave the bills their blessing, the legislation now awaits a hearing with the House Finance Committee. Larry Berman, the director of communications for Mattiello, said on Tuesday that a timetable has not yet been set for the bills in the House.
Tobon, one of the Pawtucket representatives at Thursday’s caucus, said: “I think it’s a good deal because the team is paying the bulk of the cost and we’re able to achieve our goal of keeping the PawSox in Pawtucket. My initial concerns with the deal, such as language that would have expanded the power of eminent domain, has been removed. Once we work to lower the risk to the taxpayers, this will be a good step forward for Pawtucket and Rhode Island.”
“After reviewing all the details of the plan, it’s plain that this is a good deal not only for the city of Pawtucket, but the state of Rhode Island as well, once we further mitigate the risk to the taxpayers,” Messier said. “The stadium will pay for itself from revenue from the team and the stadium’s visitors.”
The $83 million project will be paid for through a combination of borrowing on behalf of the city, state, and ballclub’s ownership and a team equity contribution. The PawSox would cover the majority of the costs, contributing $12 million in equity and principal debt of $33 million. The state and city would provide $23 million and $15 million in principal debt, respectively.
The terms of the borrowing are estimated to be between four and five percent interest for 30 years. Annual debt service payments are estimated to be $2.3 million for the PawSox, $1.5 million for the state, and $963,000 for the city.
The debt will be issued in three series of bonds. The PawSox would be responsible to pay for Series A bonds, with payments coming from revenue associated with increased attendance and ballpark naming rights. The state would pay for the Series B bonds through revenue generated from ballpark users, visitors, the team, ancillary development, and a premium ticket surcharge. The city would pay for the Series C bonds with revenues from increased property taxes generated from the new ancillary development.