Pawsox in Worcester?
Courtesy photo
There’s something about having a local baseball team that some locals have a soft spot for. After all, a coalition of local business leaders tried to form an ownership group to take over the former Worcester Tornadoes, an independent minor league team that suffered financial disaster back in 2012 and is now defunct. The play for the Tornadoes didn’t materialize, but shortly after, the collegiate Futures League team, the Worcester Bravehearts, was founded in 2014.
But to play in the bigger leagues costs money, and even as speculation that Worcester could be a viable location for the Pawtucket Red Sox, Boston’s minor-league affiliate, there seem to be some obstacles; Holy Cross’s Fitton Field, home of the Bravehearts, seats 3,000, while a stadium for 10,000 would be required for the PawSox and the big question is, who would foot the bill for an adequate facility?
Does the team really want Worcester?
Backing up a bit, let’s review what PawSox owners have said about Worcester as a potential new home for the team, following a failed bid to get the City of Providence to help fund a new waterfront stadium in that city. PawSox owner Larry Lucchino indicated to a Worcester Telegram columnist last month that Worcester may have the right elements to host the team. And according to news reports, some city leaders in Worcester are open to hearing the team out, though the PawSox have made no official statements confirming their interest in a particular Massachusetts location. Springfield also appears to be interested in what the team has to say.
Does Worcester want the team?
But since financing was the sticking point for a new stadium in Providence, it’s reasonable to assume it will be so in Worcester. While some city councilors Gary Rosen and Philip Palmieri appear to favor the idea of the PawSox in Worcester, asking City Manager Edward Augustus to sit down with owners to determine what their needs for a stadium are, others have expressed caution, or outright opposition, about investing public dollars in a stadium, and have wondered what the economic and other benefits would be to the city, should the PawSox locate here.
Given their wariness, and the fact that Augustus has been loath to take sides on the issue, it appears that the city isn’t much closer to becoming the new home to the PawSox than it was two decades ago, when, according to a Boston Globe article that ran in July, the team “flirted” with Worcester before deciding to stay in Pawtucket; today, speculation is that the PawSox may even try again for a Providence stadium.
Timothy Murray, president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, told the Globe it’s hard to foresee widespread support for the PawSox this time around.
“I don’t think anybody is interested in getting played twice,” Murray said.
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