What Does the Future Hold for the PawSox?

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Kate Nagle, GoLocal News Editor

 

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With the demise of the 195 stadium proposal from the new Pawtucket Red Sox ownership group and interest from other New England municipalities, where will the PawSox — who have played at McCoy for the last 45 years — eventually end up?

SLIDES: See Where the Pawtucket Red Sox Could End Up BELOW

Officials in Worcester, Springfield, and Fall River have all expressed interest in courting the Red Sox AAA affiliate — and another Providence location still could be on the table as an option -- as Pawtucket supporters advocate for its current location to remain its home.  

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“I think there's little reason to think they'll leave Pawtucket unless they get a sweet deal elsewhere.  There's lots of good places — if someone else is paying,” said Holy Cross Professor of Economics Vic Matheson.  ‘I suspect they’ll want to play [cities] off each other, but they asked too much to fast for Providence. "

"I’m sure behind closed doors, once that [first] deal was going nowhere, state officials said we'll make it work to build your own stadium, and the new owners said that's still too rich for for us — we just don't want to spend $100 million of our own money," added Matheson.

David Norton, who continues to spearhead the “Keep PawSox in Pawtucket” effort, declared victory with the announcement of the defeat of the 195 proposal in September, but has maintained the fight against the Sox leaving Pawtucket — and cautions what competition from other areas could mean for Rhode Islanders. 

“I know for sure that this "bidding war" talking point, and this "we don't want to lose them to [Massachusetts]" one needs to be removed from the conversation because, at best, a sliver of people will fall for it and at worst our state leaders will use it for cover after they try to ram something through the legislature,” said Norton. 

"The longer this PawSox fiasco drags on the more the anti-tax and anti-subsidy groups chime in and question whether any subsidy at all is wise," said Norton. "I think it is really very sad to watch the PawSox ownership destroy the brand and the tradition that Ben Mondor worked so hard to build."

Pawtucket - and MA - in Focus

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In a recent letter to Governor Gina Raimondo, Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien asked once again for a feasibility study to be done that was required per the lease extension at McCoy to 2021 — and demanded to see the PawSox ownership’s own feasibility study that purportedly has already been done, as other cities are knocking on the door to lure the PawSox. 

“From the beginning, I have been respectful of the nature of this business venture. I have urged patience, due diligence and transparency throughout this process; confident that if all the information was made available to Rhode Islanders and the elected officials entrusted to represent them, they would see what we here in Pawtucket have known all along… the best value for everyone is for the team to remain here in Pawtucket,” wrote Grebien.  

"It is now time for the State to take action. By allowing this process to drag out further without the City of Pawtucket and McCoy Stadium, Rhode Island’s Fenway Park, being part of the conversation, the State runs the risk of forcing the team to consider other locations outside of Rhode Island and perhaps even the region. 

Matheson spoke to other the opportunities that have cropped up, with nothing definitive on the table at this point.

“Rhode Island is relatively economically depressed, which isn’t necessarily the case in Massachusetts,” said Matheson.  “Take Boston — which is booming economically — who just said no to the Olympics, for pretty much the same reasons the 195 [PawSox stadium] proposal got shot down. It just didn’t make economic sense to the taxpayer."

“If the [PawsSox] were to go anywhere, I’d see Springfield, just because of the money surrounding the new casino,” said Matheson of the new MGM betting parlor, that is currently under construction.  “But there's still issues with that.  Mohegan Sun has a WNBA team, but minor league baseball is about bringing kids to a game."

"The only way casinos will like a sports team nearby is if it draws people to the casino," said Matheson. "Vegas has been trying to get a NBA team, but the casinos don’t like it.  Families aren't exactly going to be taking the kids next door [to a casino] in Springfield.  And the people playing slots all day aren’t exactly deciding to head outside to a ballgame.”

 

Related Slideshow: The Paw Sox Contenders - October 2015

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Pawtucket

The PawSox aren’t going anywhere - for the time being. Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien is calling for both for a feasibility study as required by the lease agreement with the state, as well as the one conducted by the new owners, as reports of outside interests in the AAA continue to mount.

GoLocal Mindsetter Kenneth Berwick argued in August that the city should align its interests with the new national park status of neighboring Blackstone River Valley; whereas GoLocal’s Russ Moore argued recently that “RI is too poor to bid for the PawSox.”

Right now there’s only speculation surrounding the team's next move, but people like David Norton are continuing to keep pressure on leadership to keep Pawtucket in the game -- if it makes sense for taxpayers. 

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Providence

As GoLocal was first to report, another potential Paw Sox location in Providence emerged following the 195 proposal — the old Victory Place footprint just off Allens Avenue.  The previous owners touted the option would remove the need for state involvement and the proposed "lease and sublease" provisions that would have cost Rhode Island tens of millions over the next thirty years. 

Fast forward several months, and the 195 proposal is no more, and the Victory property is now owned by Lifespan.  Holy Cross Professor of Economics Vic Matheson says that if a stadium gets put there “the city would most likely take control of that spot, it would easier to deal with abatements."

"The 195 spot they say died for environmental reasons, but if people were really excited about it, they would have made it happen," said Matheson. "It's hard to see taxpayers in Providence wanting to give millions to the owners.”

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Worcester

New England’s second largest city remains on the short list of prospects for the Red Sox AAA affiliate, but business leaders weren’t keen on using tax dollars to subsidize the project back in February, when Tim Murray, President and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce said, “The doors are always open...I think people here would be willing to listen, but everyone recognizes this requires significant municipal assistance. Massachusetts, traditionally, has been reluctant to use tax dollars to those kind of things, and I think in most cases, appropriately so."

City Councilor Gary Rosen was bullish on the proposal after the 195 location fell through. “The 'WorSox' could purchase, clean up and build a fine stadium on the spacious Wyman Gordon property near Kelly Square," said Rosen in September. "That location also has excellent highway access."

Vic Matheson at Holy Cross said he could see it happening — contingent on the ownership fronting the cost to build a new stadium. “I can't imagine [Worcester] pouring $4 million a year for 20 years.  I see no reason why they wouldn't make it easy, but they wouldn't foot the bill."

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Springfield

Springfield’s Communications Director Jim Leydon told 22News earlier this month that Mayor Domenic Sarno spoke with Pawtucket Red Sox owner Larry Lucchino and that Leydon says the Mayor would like to have a more formal conversation, but no meetings are scheduled.  Leydon turned down request for comment from GoLocal on Monday.    

The interest by New England’s fourth largest city comes on the heels of the groundbreaking of a $800 million MGM casino which is slated to open in 2018.  Holy Cross Professor of Economics Vic Matheson said his “guess is Springfield” to be the frontrunner as an option to Pawtucket.

“That’s just because of the money surrounding the new casino, but there's still issues with that,” said Matheson.

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Fall River

Could Fall River be the new location for the Pawtucket Red Sox?  That’s the headline that was posed by the Fall River Herald News’ Kevin P. O’Connor on October 15.

According to O’Connor: “We have started poking around, to see if there is an interest in bringing the Pawtucket Red Sox to Fall River,” said Robert Mellion, president and CEO of the Fall River Area chamber. “This is a job for the Chamber, to see if there is an interest and to talk to people to see where the interest might lead.”

The consideration comes at a time when Fall River is set to welcome a new Amazon distribution center which will employ 1,000 and is set to be completed next year, according to the Herald News Jo C. Goode. 

 

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