Downtown ballpark furthers Pawtucket’s rise
As co-chairs of The Pawtucket Foundation, we are excited about the prospects of progress for our city. We are a foundation dedicated to the improvement of Pawtucket’s economic development, particularly in the downtown and riverfront areas of our city.
It has been said many times by our civic leadership: Pawtucket is at a pivotal point. Pawtucket will have gone from a city under stress to a renaissance city with a new commuter rail station, rejuvenated downtown with small business startups, numerous mill restorations into residences, a national park headquarters at Old Slater Mill, the Gamm Theatre, an arts district, the return of the Narragansett Brewery at Isle Brewers, a huge uptick in educational standings; and, importantly, a new AAA baseball stadium. We firmly believe that with an equitable investment by the state, the city, private businesses, and our larger community, Pawtucket should be a national model for cooperation and focused investment in an urban core small city.
With respect to the PawSox, McCoy Stadium, the longtime home of the PawSox, has long been supported by state government leasing and financing programs. There have been two lease financings of McCoy in the past 30 years, and the obligations have been fully paid off. However, both location and structural issues make it unlikely that the stadium can be reconstructed into a first-class ballpark meeting International League and, quite frankly, fan expectations. Now, we have the opportunity to move the PawSox into the heart of our downtown area.
The PawSox have been and, in the future, must be an essential part of the fabric of the city, bringing national prominence in identification for both the city and Rhode Island. The PawSox’ loss to another state would be a black eye, not only for Pawtucket but for Rhode Island. Its positioning in the downtown, visible to all off Route 95, would, on the other hand, be a “home run” for the city and the state. Across America, political leaders and business leaders will be asking “how did it happen?” and who was responsible for the “Miracle on the Blackstone.”
With the leadership of Mayor Don Grebien, and a 20/20 focus on our future, we have no doubt that the move of the PawSox to the downtown area will create further economic rejuvenation and do so at a reasonable cost, with no additional tax burden to state or city citizens. It must be successful, which requires participation by all concerned, including the PawSox, the city and the state.
As a nonprofit foundation representing businesses and not-for-profit entities in Pawtucket, and with the collaboration and cooperation of all interested parties, a move by the PawSox to the downtown area will be something that future generations will point to as the catalyst that created a new and even more dynamic Pawtucket and a model of focused investment by our state, city and communities. Daniel J. Sullivan Kevin Tracy Co-chairs, The Pawtucket Foundation