PawSox picked Worcester out of about 20 possible cities
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The proposed stadium site in Worcester's Canal District.
Worcester was far from the only New England municipality hoping to get a shot to convince the Pawtucket Red Sox to call its city home.
In an interview with WBJ, PawSox Executive Vice President and General Manager Dan Rea said close to 20 other cities and towns made calls to the team before the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate signed a letter of intent last Friday to move the team to the Canal District.
Rea singled out south-of-Boston’s Weymouth, which he said put forth a good offer.
Without getting into details, Rea said that city’s proposal was more from the angle of a private developer rather than a partnership involving public financing.
“That was one that was pretty interesting to us,” Rea said.
Other Eastern Massachusetts locations like Fall River and New Bedford -- both a short drive away from Pawtucket -- made overtures to the team, Rea said. He declined to name all the cities that pitched the PawSox.
Other Rhode Island cities also made pitches to help keep the team in the Ocean State, but Rea said the team was ultimately lured to Worcester because of the city’s central location, the city and state's support for the project and the public-private partnership that endeavors to not only build a potential $90-million stadium, but also 650,000 square feet of mixed-use development.
Rea also said the team envisions expanding its market into northern New England and having the site serve as a more regional ballpark as residents in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine can easily access interstates leading into Worcester.
More from this interview will appear in the WBJ's Sept. 3 print issue.
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