Pawtucket Firefighters Say Centreville Bank Stadium Owners Owe Thousands in Unpaid Detail

Pawtucket Firefighters Say Centreville Bank Stadium Owners Owe Thousands in Unpaid Detail

The Pawtucket Firefighters' union is alleging that the owners of the Centreville Bank Stadium have not paid for details in March and April this year. The stadium is the  home to the minor league soccer team Rhode Island FC. 

The stadium was funded by tens of millions of dollars in state subsidies, but is privately owned by a group led by California-based Brett Johnson.

In a letter shared this week, the union said that they had previously been paid - on the same day - for required details by the owners of the Pawtucket Red Sox, per their collective bargaining agreement.

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Now, the union is questioning whether the new stadium is receiving "preferential treatment" from the city - or if the stadium is in "financial difficulties."

GoLocal reached out to the stadium ownership group and to Pawtucket City officials -- neither responded at the time of publication.

Union on Record

On Thursday, the Executive Board of the union shared the following:

"As required by Rhode Island Fire Code, members of Pawtucket Firefighters Local 1261 have been assigned to provide fire details at Centreville Bank Stadium.

On March 14 and 17th, seven Pawtucket firefighters worked fire overwatch details at the stadium. To date, they have not been paid. Despite this, on April 1, acting Public Safety Director Goncalves ordered three additional firefighters to report to the stadium for a four hour fire detail after completing their regular shifts. These firefighters were required to stay on duty without any clear timeline for when or if they would be compensated. The stadium currently owes a total of $3,200 for the services.

Under Rhode Island State fire code, the City of Pawtucket has the authority to require private entities to pay for fire details. However, the city has not enforced this requirement. This raises concerns that the stadium is receiving preferential treatment. It is both unfair and unprecedented for Pawtucket firefighters to be required to work details without any assurances of payment.

Another event is scheduled for Saturday, April 4, and there is concern that firefighters will again be ordered to perform details without any guarantee of compensation.

For nearly 40 years, the Pawtucket Red Sox paid for fire details at McCoy Stadium on the same day of service, in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement. Other private vendors in the city continue to follow this contractual practice. The owners of Centreville Bank Stadium have not.

While it is unclear whether the stadium owners are experiencing financial difficulties, firefighters are continuing to provide services without being paid. To our knowledge, all other vendors, employees, and employee details at the stadium are being paid on time, but the men and women of the Pawtucket fire department are not."