Worcester City Council votes against dissolving Ballpark Commission

Photo | Courtesy of the Worcester Red Sox A Worcester Red Sox game at Polar Park in 2022

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By Isabel Tehan

The Ballpark Commission, which oversees certain aspects of Polar Park programming, will remain in place, following an 8-1 vote in favor of keeping it at a Worcester city council meeting.

The city councilors held a special meeting Tuesday in advance of what would have been the last days of the ballpark commission had a vote to keep it not been made. City Manager Eric Batista had previously proposed dissolving the commission, in favor of its responsibilities being handed over to the Department of Public Facilities.

The vote will keep the two-year-old commission in place. It is charged with keeping the city manager informed of ballpark issues, overseeing the ballpark lease agreement and the financial status of the ballpark facilities, issuing approvals, permits, and licenses for events, and, among other responsibilities. Before it was officially established in 2021, councilors expressed concerns about granting oversight of the park to a commission.

The commission has faced scrutiny about a lack of allowed public use of the park in the form of revenue-generating events, a tenet of the agreement when financing plans for the $160 million park were agreed upon.

Batista said in the Tuesday meeting that no alternate plans had been made in the case of councilors voting against deleting the commission.