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Post by rf1 on Jul 12, 2017 10:49:44 GMT -5
Over the years, I have been to PawSox games perhaps a dozen times, mostly when I first moved to RI 18+ years ago and almost exclusively with groups (employer, HC Club of RI, CPCU Society). A nice venue, generally plenty of parking and I know I have low standards but see nothing wrong with the current stadium. Also lived and attended games at AAA ballparks in Syracuse and Columbus, the latter probably being the best of the 3 (naturally, a Yankee minor league team as Syracuse was until they migrated over to Toronto). Just not sure why these for-profit baseball teams need (?)/expect taxpayers to subsidize these stadiums. Your view is shared by many. The present McCoy Stadium venue in Pawtucket is perfectly acceptable to most fans despite what PawSox management says. They have tried to tie their attendance decline to the stadium but I believe it has had little impact. The declining attendance has more to do with an overall drop in Boston Red Sox interest (was at its peak in and around 2005), the uncertainty and bad taste left from the first Pawsox Providence stadium proposal, and a plethora of other entertainment options these days. The real reason the PawSox management want a new stadium is to make more money. They will charge more for tickets in a new park, get parking revenue, and get money off development in and around the stadium (which is not really feasible with current stadium).
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Post by rgs318 on Jul 12, 2017 11:52:09 GMT -5
IHO, if you watch college and little league, you are a fan of watching "real" baseball.
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Post by rf1 on Jul 23, 2017 8:22:46 GMT -5
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Post by rf1 on Jul 25, 2017 9:04:14 GMT -5
Pawsox tour Worcester - Meet with city leaders www.providencejournal.com/news/20170724/pawsox-tour-worcester-meet-with-city-leadersMy take is that this is more posturing and putting pressure on RI to act. I will start to take Worcester seriously when it puts together an extremely attractive financial package where the local public sector assumes more than half the cost of stadium construction (some 40M). Until then it is just talk.
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Post by hchoops on Jul 25, 2017 9:06:23 GMT -5
A bluff ?
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Post by A Clock Tower Purple on Jul 25, 2017 9:14:01 GMT -5
Paw Sox are going nowhere. Worc serves as a willing sucker for the Paw Sox to gain leverage much like Hartford got played by Bob Kraft to get a new stadium in Foxboro.
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Post by timholycross on Jul 26, 2017 14:33:17 GMT -5
Absolutely. There is nothing close to a proposal to move the team to Worcester.
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Post by Wormtown Railers Fan on Jul 26, 2017 16:23:29 GMT -5
It feels like many posters on this board not only think Worcester won't land the Pawsox, they also don't want Worcester to land the Paw Sox.
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Post by bigfan on Jul 26, 2017 16:33:10 GMT -5
I would love to have the PawSox in Worcester, I don't think it will happen as I believe that RI won't let them leave. I would like to see the Railers leave so that HE would come to Worcester.
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Post by matunuck on Aug 12, 2017 20:41:58 GMT -5
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Post by rf1 on Aug 14, 2017 11:33:25 GMT -5
The Pawtucket Red Sox had three straight sellouts at McCoy Stadium over the weekend. The three-day weekend homestand attendance total of 31,639 marks the largest August weekend attendance total at McCoy Stadium in seven years - since August 13-15 of 2010, when a total of 32,378 fans attended those three games at McCoy.
08/11/17 FRI 10,059 08/12/17 SAT 11,515 08/13/17 SUN 10,065
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Post by Tom on Aug 15, 2017 8:03:50 GMT -5
From the Telegram article
I didn't have numbers, but I've been saying for some time greater Providence is bigger than greater Worcester and that would keep the PawSox in RI
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Post by rgs318 on Aug 15, 2017 9:43:58 GMT -5
Which is more important...the size of the potential market, or the size of the crowd that may actually attend games?
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Post by A Clock Tower Purple on Aug 15, 2017 10:00:23 GMT -5
You have a better chance of getting zapped by lightning and hitting the lottery on the same day than you do of seeing the Paw Sox leaving Rhode Island for Worc.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Aug 15, 2017 10:09:08 GMT -5
So you're saying there's a chance..
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Post by sader1970 on Aug 15, 2017 10:26:28 GMT -5
I don't think the relative size of Providence vs. Worcester makes too much difference. The bottom line is that both locations are big Red Sox fans though there are a lot of Yankee fans in the Ocean State.
I believe the PawSox, or whatever they might be called in the future, would be successful in either venue. It'll come down to which city/state ponies up the most money. My bet would be that they stay in Rhode Island but wouldn't bet on them getting as much of a subsidy as they would like to get from either location. No question they are trying to leverage Worcester/Mass against Pawtucket/RI but they may well find in an era to tight budgets that their bluff might be called by both and they will have to settle for less. They can't realistically move too far elsewhere because they would lose their BoSox supporters.
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Post by timholycross on Aug 15, 2017 10:44:35 GMT -5
Question: What is the Canal District...is it the area near HC off of 146...or somewhere else?
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Post by CHC8485 on Aug 15, 2017 10:50:04 GMT -5
Somewhere else, but close. In general terms if you are only a little familiar with the city, it's the general area between Kelley Square and Union Station. Here's a link with a map if you want to take a walking tour. You can click links there to get more of the history of the area. thecanaldistrict.com/walking-map/
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Post by rf1 on Aug 15, 2017 11:11:38 GMT -5
Question: What is the Canal District...is it the area near HC off of 146...or somewhere else? The canal district is just north of Kelly Square. It is mainly Water, Harding, and Green Streets which all run parallel to Route 290. The irony of the district's name (Canal) and that of one of its streets (Water) is that there is no water visible anywhere in the vicinity. There is however actually water there but it now runs beneath the road surfaces. The Blackstone River Canal ran through this area until it was covered up in the 1890's. It was actually the northern terminus of the canal which dates to 1828 and ended in Providence where Worcester goods could be offloaded to ocean going vessels. The Canal District has seen some restaurants and loft style apartments open in the area after the renovation of the train station. Some parts of the area are however still undeveloped and a bit sketchy. A proposed site for a Worcester Stadium is nearby at the junction of Madison and Washington Streets where the Wyman Gordon facility that manufactured forged metal components once stood. The site may however require extensive environmental remediation. Its location off the city's most dangerous intersection (Kelly Sq) also presents traffic and access problems which might have to be resolved.
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Post by rf1 on Aug 15, 2017 11:18:52 GMT -5
I don't think the relative size of Providence vs. Worcester makes too much difference. The bottom line is that both locations are big Red Sox fans though there are a lot of Yankee fans in the Ocean State. I disagree. The Providence market is nearly twice the size of Worcester. The downtown Pawtucket stadium proposal puts it right along Route 95 just a mile from the MA border and just minutes from downtown Providence. The nearby population and easy access for much of eastern MA, in my opinion, offer much better attendance prospects. The crowds at Pawtucket this past weekend and for the seasons of the early 2000's demonstrate concrete proof of what can be met with a stadium in that area. A move to the smaller market of Worcester, a city with a history of not adequately supporting minor league sports teams, is a much bigger unknown risk with regards to attendance.
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Post by sader1970 on Aug 15, 2017 12:31:57 GMT -5
rf1, your post above about the Canal district is clear evidence that you have studied this matter much more extensively than I and I defer to your greater expertise on this subject.
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Post by rf1 on Aug 15, 2017 13:15:07 GMT -5
rf1, your post above about the Canal district is clear evidence that you have studied this matter much more extensively than I and I defer to your greater expertise on this subject. My posts are merely just my opinion. I however think my perspective is somewhat relevant having actually lived a number of years in both Pawtucket and Worcester and following the Pawsox for some forty years. I was in fact there in 1981 at McCoy for the 33rd inning conclusion of the longest game ever in professional baseball (both Wade Boggs and Cal Ripken played in it).
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Post by sader1970 on Aug 15, 2017 13:39:34 GMT -5
I repeat . . . . I defer to your greater expertise!
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Post by rf1 on Aug 15, 2017 14:52:31 GMT -5
Proposed Worcester stadium site at former Wyman Gordon location Present: Artist rendering of park Mockup of proposed but never acted upon NE Revolution Stadium on this site
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Post by Tom on Aug 21, 2017 11:11:28 GMT -5
Question: What is the Canal District...is it the area near HC off of 146...or somewhere else? The canal district is just north of Kelly Square. It is mainly Water, Harding, and Green Streets which all run parallel to Route 290. The irony of the district's name (Canal) and that of one of its streets (Water) is that there is no water visible anywhere in the vicinity. There is however actually water there but it now runs beneath the road surfaces. The Blackstone River Canal ran through this area until it was covered up in the 1890's. It was actually the northern terminus of the canal which dates to 1828 and ended in Providence where Worcester goods could be offloaded to ocean going vessels. The Canal District has seen some restaurants and loft style apartments open in the area after the renovation of the train station. Some parts of the area are however still undeveloped and a bit sketchy. A proposed site for a Worcester Stadium is nearby at the junction of Madison and Washington Streets where the Wyman Gordon facility that manufactured forged metal components once stood. The site may however require extensive environmental remediation. Its location off the city's most dangerous intersection (Kelly Sq) also presents traffic and access problems which might have to be resolved. The area is up and coming pretty nicely. The bar scene is good enough that on Thursdays HC sends a shuttle van down to help bring the kids back to campus. Also where the Railers practice facility is going to be built. As you say, the canal in this area was just covered up. Back in the late 80's/early 90's during a long stretch of heavy rain, I remember it rising again flooding a lot of stuff in that area
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