PawSox: Governor says no to I-195 site for ballpark

THE PAWTUCKET RED SOX play in their longtime home at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket. The team's owners said that the governor has determined that the I-195 site on the Providence River is not suitable for construction of a new ballpark.   / COURTESY PAWTUCKET RED SOX
THE PAWTUCKET RED SOX play in their longtime home at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket. The team's owners said that the governor has determined that the I-195 site on the Providence River is not suitable for construction of a new ballpark. / COURTESY PAWTUCKET RED SOX

(Updated 1:06 p.m.)
PAWTUCKET – The Pawtucket Red Sox said that Gov. Gina M. Raimondo has nixed the I-195 site on the Providence River for a new ballpark.
“The club will therefore suspend its pursuit of that parcel, and it will cease its public campaign for the I-195 riverfront site,” the PawSox said in a press release issued over the weekend.
PawSox Chairman Larry Lucchino, also president/CEO of the Boston Red Sox, said they still believe the site along the river is “exceptional” and would have been a “win-win-win for the state, the city and the PawSox,” but said they were told that the site “still confronts certain obstacles and lacks the necessary support.”
“We have been urged to consider other possible sites. We will now begin to consider all other options and proposals we receive, including city officials’ suggestion of potential other sites in Providence. We thank I-195 Chairman Joe Azrack and economist Andrew Zimbalist for their months of dedicated, professional negotiations on the state’s behalf that led us to a draft agreement in late July,” Lucchino said in a statement.
The club will “devote its energy” to preparing for the 2016 season at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, but will continue to explore ideas and proposals for the franchise’s long-term future, the release stated.
Raimondo spokeswoman Marie Aberger said that the governor has been saying for weeks that there were several challenges involving the land, including agreement from many stakeholders, approval from various regulators and the cost of the land.

“It eventually became obvious to everyone who looked at this – including the Pawsox owners, the governor and the speaker – that the barriers were too significant,” Aberger wrote in an email. “What’s important now is that we advance our vision for the 195 site – which involves creating an innovation campus that produces jobs for Rhode Islanders and economic vitality for our state – and that we continue doing everything we can to keep the PawSox where they belong: in Rhode Island.”

The new ownership of the PawSox said earlier this year that it wanted to move the team out of its longtime home at McCoy to the Providence site, a proposal that wasn’t well-received by the public, as opponents criticized the site as well as the public-private financing proposal with the state.
Another setback occurred when one of the principal PawSox owners, the one who was most vocal about the proposal for Providence – James Skeffington – died unexpectedly in May.
Meanwhile, Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien is continuing to push to keep the PawSox in his city, and Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian also is pitching his city as a potential future home of the team.

A group that was against the Providence stadium proposal – Stop the Stadium Deal – lauded Raimondo’s decision. It had been working since mid-May gathering signatures for a petition, writing letters to public officials, canvassing in House Speaker Nicholas A. Mattiello’s district, and attending anti-stadium/pro-park events.
“We intend to continue to monitor and organize against any future proposals that seek taxpayer money to build private-owned sports stadiums in Rhode Island,” Samuel Bell, chairman of STSD, said in prepared remarks.
The group had been working with another group to keep the PawSox in Pawtucket. It also said it wants to see the riverfront land be used as a park.
“We intend to continue our efforts to ensure that an urban park welcoming to everyone remains a centerpiece of the redevelopment plan,” STSD spokesperson Sharon Steele said.

- Advertisement -

No posts to display