Worcester hires big guns for PawSox push
Grant Welker
The vacant Wyman Gordon property near Kelley square is eyed as a possible site for a new PawSox ballpark.
In an effort to help lure the Pawtucket Red Sox to Worcester, the city has hired two big names to help convince the Triple A affiliate minor league baseball team to leave Rhode Island.
In a statement, City Manager Ed Augustus said the city has hired economist Andrew Zimbalist and lawyer and former Department of Transportation secretary and CEO Jeffery Mullan.
The two are assisting with the preliminary work as we explore the possibility of bringing Triple A baseball to Worcester, Augustus said.
PawSox officials have been to Worcester, and there have been ongoing conversations since then, Augustus said.
Zimbalist is a professor of economics at Smith College in Northampton and is an expert on the economics of the sports industry, publishing several books and articles on the matter.
According to his profile on the college’s website, he has consulted in Latin America for the United Nations Development Program, the U.S. Agency for International Development and other companies.
He was a leading voice against Boston’s bid to host the 2024 Olympics.
Mullan, a partner at Boston law firm Foley Hoag LLP, has worked in transportation and redevelopment projects in New England for 25 years. He represents clients on real estate, transportation, construction and infrastructure matters.
He led MassDOT from 2009 to 2011 and led the development of the department’s first strategic transportation plan, according to his profile on Foley Hoag LLP’’s website.
Augustus added he is following through on the City Council’s 8-1 vote calling for Augustus to do everything in his power to court the team to Worcester.
The vacant Wyman Gordon property in the Canal District has been eyed as a possible site for a ballpark. The team was seeking to build an $83-million stadium in Pawtucket, including using $38 million in public money.
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