Steinberg says PawSox would ‘like to keep it here’

PAWTUCKET — As reports out of Worcester have indicated that talks between the city and the Pawtucket Red Sox have been ongoing and that a deal between the two parties could be approaching, PawSox President Charles Steinberg, during a forum at the Pawtucket Public Library on Saturday, reiterated that the PawSox would “like to keep it here.”

Steinberg was joined by PawSox General Manager Dan Rea and Special Assistant to the Chairman Bart Harvey at the library on Saturday as they hosted a 90-minute conversation and question-and-answer session dedicated to explaining the details of the proposal that would construct a new $83 million ballpark downtown and the potential for ancillary development that would be built around the park.

While only 15 people attended Saturday’s forum, there was no shortage of pointed questions from members of the public. Topics from the audience ranged from attendance projections, the amount of jobs that could be created, uncertainty about the future, the team’s televi- sion broadcasts and ratings, and the possibility for declining attendance after a so-called “honeymoon period.”

Steinberg discussed the merits of a “well-designed, well-located ballpark in the right part of downtown,” which he believed could “absolutely revitalize a city.” He referenced previous stadium projects overseen by PawSox Chairman Larry Lucchino – from Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor to Petco Park in San Diego’s Gaslamp District.

“The question is how valuable is it to you for a family-oriented Triple-A baseball team to be in your town?” Steinberg asked those in attendance. “Understanding other towns would rather we go there. We want to keep the team here. If the team goes away, you lose the profits, you lose the spirit, and you lose the place to take your children. That’s why I want to keep the team here.”

He also cautioned that if the PawSox relocate to Worcester, then the city would not be able to turn around and attract another franchise to play in Pawtucket – as they’d be within Worcester’s minor-league territorial radius – leaving the city without a professional baseball team.

“If the club goes, you don’t get a team back, you’re in Worcester’s territory, the door shuts,” Steinberg said. “We’d like to keep it here, that’s what we’d like.”

The stadium financing proposal has been dormant in the House of Representatives since the state Senate approved the deal earlier this year. Media reports earlier this week said the team is close to a revised proposal which could be heard by the House this month.

“The issue is under consideration by the House of Representatives,” Steinberg said. “Now it’s up to the House of Representatives or Speaker of the House to determine … We hope it’s resolved in this legislative session, but we’re not elected officials.”

During the forum, Harvey presented the facts and figures behind the financing proposal, saying those opposed to the deal have “done a great job of mischaracterizing major components … What ultimately gets lost in this is the city that it’s really about. Catalyzing downtown, revitalizing an urban core that was a vibrant downtown district.”

Harvey showed slides of Triple-A cities including Nashville, Durham, and Toledo – dis- playing vacant plots of land and then the stateof-the-art ballparks which were built on the once-empty land. He said those ballparks have served as “anchors” in catalyzing their respective downtowns.

“What a ballpark could do for the state, you enter Rhode Island on (Interstate) 95 and look at Pawtucket, we really think you could see this wow image, this gem of a ballpark as you’re going by,” he later said. “Bringing 500,000 to a million people downtown would be a help for those businesses … We think it could be done in Pawtucket. The building stock and the bones are there, it’s just waiting for the catalyst of development to come and we think the ballpark could be that catalyst.”

Harvey also said he understood the necessity of having the deal be scrutinized in the public, but he said when compared to other investments Rhode Island has made in entertainment venues – from the Dunkin’ Donuts Center to the Rhode Island Convention Center – the PawSox’ proposal is “light years better than what was proposed in the past. That’s why we believe this could be a huge help for the city of Pawtucket.”