Raimondo reacts to McCoy Stadium study, prefers team in Pawtucket

GOV. GINA M. Raimondo discussed the McCoy Stadium study on Friday.  / PBN FILE PHOTO/EMILY GOWDEY-BACKUS
GOV. GINA M. Raimondo discussed the McCoy Stadium study on Friday. / PBN FILE PHOTO/EMILY GOWDEY-BACKUS

PROVIDENCE – In response to a recent study analyzing the current conditions of McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, Gov. Gina M. Raimondo said state investment could be a possibility after financial commitments are made by the city of Pawtucket and the Pawtucket Red Sox’s ownership.

At a press conference on Friday, she said she would like to see the team remain in Rhode Island – Pawtucket, in particular – if possible.

The report, released by Pendulum Studio II LLC, outlined two courses of action for the stadium, which was built in 1942 and has been home to the PawSox, a Triple A Boston Red Sox affiliate. Razing and completely rebuilding the stadium would cost an estimated $78.4 million for a facility that would last beyond 2037, compared with $68.1 million estimated to renovate and repair the existing stadium.

Raimondo said she was open to a public subsidy to fund either option taken, but added “[the state] has a lot of competing demands,” citing her proposal to cut the car excise tax and a recent initiative to provide free college tuition to state residents enrolled at public institutions.

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“Money doesn’t grow on trees,” she said, adding the state would make a decision once officials know more about the return on investment, including the number of jobs the construction project would create.

While she said it was “premature” for her to choose one option over another, she lauded Pawtucket’s mayor, Donald R. Grebien, for “taking ownership of [the project] … and trying to find a solution.”

Raimondo said when the subject of improving McCoy stadium had previously been brought to her by the team’s ownership, the contract called for “$100 million in taxpayer funds and we would get nothing.”

She called that iteration a “bad deal,” but said now the team’s ownership is “collaborating with the city, the city is taking the leadership role and everybody is realizing they have to do their part.”

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