Post by sader1970 on Aug 18, 2022 10:56:46 GMT -5
With apologies if this sets off another firestorm:
www.telegram.com/story/sports/mlb/woosox/2022/08/17/the-fun-has-just-begun-woosox-were-born-four-years-ago-city-hall-announcement/10331914002/?utm_source=telegram-DailyBriefing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_briefing&utm_term=list_article_thumb&utm_content=NTEG-MASSACHUSETTS-WORCESTER-NLETTER65
'The fun has just begun': WooSox were born 4 years ago with City Hall announcement
Letter of intent to build Polar Park in the Canal District was signed Aug. 17, 2018
Joe McDonald
Telegram & Gazette
WORCESTER — It was Aug. 17, 2018, when the Boston Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate played a tripleheader at two different sites in two New England states.
It was four years ago when the Worcester Red Sox were officially born.
The day started with PawSox principal owner Larry Lucchino, team president Dr. Charles Steinberg and executive vice president/general manager Dan Rea telling the mayor of Pawtucket, Rhode Island that the team would leave McCoy Stadium after 50 years and relocate to Worcester.
With Polar Cola can at the ready, Larry Lucchino speaks at City Hall on Aug. 17, 2018, with Polar Beverages CEO Ralph Crowley Jr. looking on at the announcement the Pawtucket Red Sox would be heading to Worcester.
The PawSox contingent then drove north on Route 146, arrived at Worcester City Hall and signed a letter of intent to build a ballpark in the Canal District that would be ready for Opening Day 2021. Lucchino stood at City Hall with Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Mayor Joseph Petty and then-City Manager Ed Augustus to announce the historic move.
“In the morning, we solemnly delivered our farewell letter to Mayor Don Grebien, who we really love and did everything he possibly could,” Steinberg explained. “We then drove up to Worcester to a packed city hall, and Larry holds up that can of Polar Cola, and you can feel the excitement in that room.”
The PawSox executives then had to return to McCoy Stadium for a game that night.
A young fan tries to get on the big screen during Wednesday's noon WooSox game at Polar Park.
“Dan and I sat in our Fan Services Center to be ready to face every angry fan, and what was sad was there weren’t nearly as many angry fans as there were just sad fans,” Steinberg recalled. “We were symbolic of something not getting done because we didn’t have cooperation from state officials supporting their city officials.”
On the other side, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Worcester worked in synergy to bring the team here. It proved to be an historic day for Worcester.
“You think about that day and then you think about the four years,” Steinberg said. “The four years is more than an a milestone, it’s an illustration of what a community can accomplish.”
Red Sox catcher Ronaldo Hernandez tosses the ball to fans after tagging out Red Wings' John Nogowski at home plate for a third out of the inning.
There were certain crucial dates that ultimately led Lucchino & Co. to decide to relocate the Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate to Worcester on Aug. 17, 2018.
In September 2015, while the PawSox were still committed to build in Rhode Island, Lucchino did not dismiss the possibility of moving the team to either Worcester, or other cities in Massachusetts.
Those comments led to the Canal District Alliance to launch its now-famous postcard campaign on Dec. 19, 2015. Lucchino received more than 10,000 postcards from fans and local businesses urging the team to relocate to Worcester. That caught Lucchino’s attention. He noted how proud people are of this city and how committed they were the resurgence of the Canal District.
“The postcard campaign was really important,” Steinberg said.
Rea kept the boxes of postcards in his office at McCoy Stadium.
“It was to be this persistent and constant reminder of how much people in another city wanted us,” Steinberg said.
Post cards sent to the team line the main lobby of Polar Park.
Still, Steinberg was convinced a deal would get done in Rhode Island, but to no avail. It was the boxes of postcards that kept executives and partners motivated.
“There was great comfort knowing that so many people would take the time to send, or sign a postcard, because it tells you more than data, or tells you more about a survey, or it tells you more than a poll. Here are 10,000 people saying, ‘Yes. We would like you to come.’ We built a ballpark that if you squeezed everyone in would fit 10,000 people. Those postcards mattered. It was a constant reminder.”
In fact, many of those postcards hang on the wall of Polar Park’s main lobby on Madison Street.
Meanwhile, Rhode Island politics continued to erode the possibility of the PawSox staying in the Ocean State, and even though the team announced in May 2017 the plan to build a new ballpark in Pawtucket, it imploded July 2, 2017, when the Rhode Island state legislative session adjourned with no decision on ballpark funding.
Worcester kept on its full-court press to convince the PawSox to relocate, and the sides met in a private meeting on July 21, 2017, at Lock 50 restaurant on Water Street. Local government and business leaders hosted Lucchino & Co. on a tour around the Canal District to paint the picture of what a ballpark, and the surrounding area, could look like.
Just over a year later on Aug. 17, 2018, Lucchino made the official announcement he promised to build a state-of-the art facility and family-friendly ballpark that reflected the deep history of baseball in Central Massachusetts.
Across from Polar Park, construction continues at Green Island Boulevard and Madison Street.
The WooSox were officially born.
Polar Park was built, and the neighborhood around it continues to thrive. New projects are in the works for more residential, commercial and business growth around the ballpark.
“You take a look at what this piece of ground looked like four years ago, and how it was making no valuable contribution to the community,” Steinberg said. “You look at four years later, you have a full house for a 12:15 matinee filled with campers all over Central Massachusetts. (The WooSox won Wednesday, 2-1.) You see the role that a ballpark and ballclub can play in the community. It’s pretty dramatic to see in a four-year window.”
Even though the WooSox, as a concept, are 4 years old, the actual product of team and ballpark celebrated its second birthday earlier this season. So much has already happened in Worcester, and it’s only beginning.
“I hope, and think, and feel that we’re only at the beginning of the contribution Polar Park and the WooSox can make,” Steinberg said. “The fun has just begun.”
—Contact Joe McDonald at JMcDonald2@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @joeymachockey.
Letter of intent to build Polar Park in the Canal District was signed Aug. 17, 2018
Joe McDonald
Telegram & Gazette
WORCESTER — It was Aug. 17, 2018, when the Boston Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate played a tripleheader at two different sites in two New England states.
It was four years ago when the Worcester Red Sox were officially born.
The day started with PawSox principal owner Larry Lucchino, team president Dr. Charles Steinberg and executive vice president/general manager Dan Rea telling the mayor of Pawtucket, Rhode Island that the team would leave McCoy Stadium after 50 years and relocate to Worcester.
With Polar Cola can at the ready, Larry Lucchino speaks at City Hall on Aug. 17, 2018, with Polar Beverages CEO Ralph Crowley Jr. looking on at the announcement the Pawtucket Red Sox would be heading to Worcester.
The PawSox contingent then drove north on Route 146, arrived at Worcester City Hall and signed a letter of intent to build a ballpark in the Canal District that would be ready for Opening Day 2021. Lucchino stood at City Hall with Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Mayor Joseph Petty and then-City Manager Ed Augustus to announce the historic move.
“In the morning, we solemnly delivered our farewell letter to Mayor Don Grebien, who we really love and did everything he possibly could,” Steinberg explained. “We then drove up to Worcester to a packed city hall, and Larry holds up that can of Polar Cola, and you can feel the excitement in that room.”
The PawSox executives then had to return to McCoy Stadium for a game that night.
A young fan tries to get on the big screen during Wednesday's noon WooSox game at Polar Park.
“Dan and I sat in our Fan Services Center to be ready to face every angry fan, and what was sad was there weren’t nearly as many angry fans as there were just sad fans,” Steinberg recalled. “We were symbolic of something not getting done because we didn’t have cooperation from state officials supporting their city officials.”
On the other side, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Worcester worked in synergy to bring the team here. It proved to be an historic day for Worcester.
“You think about that day and then you think about the four years,” Steinberg said. “The four years is more than an a milestone, it’s an illustration of what a community can accomplish.”
Red Sox catcher Ronaldo Hernandez tosses the ball to fans after tagging out Red Wings' John Nogowski at home plate for a third out of the inning.
There were certain crucial dates that ultimately led Lucchino & Co. to decide to relocate the Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate to Worcester on Aug. 17, 2018.
In September 2015, while the PawSox were still committed to build in Rhode Island, Lucchino did not dismiss the possibility of moving the team to either Worcester, or other cities in Massachusetts.
Those comments led to the Canal District Alliance to launch its now-famous postcard campaign on Dec. 19, 2015. Lucchino received more than 10,000 postcards from fans and local businesses urging the team to relocate to Worcester. That caught Lucchino’s attention. He noted how proud people are of this city and how committed they were the resurgence of the Canal District.
“The postcard campaign was really important,” Steinberg said.
Rea kept the boxes of postcards in his office at McCoy Stadium.
“It was to be this persistent and constant reminder of how much people in another city wanted us,” Steinberg said.
Post cards sent to the team line the main lobby of Polar Park.
Still, Steinberg was convinced a deal would get done in Rhode Island, but to no avail. It was the boxes of postcards that kept executives and partners motivated.
“There was great comfort knowing that so many people would take the time to send, or sign a postcard, because it tells you more than data, or tells you more about a survey, or it tells you more than a poll. Here are 10,000 people saying, ‘Yes. We would like you to come.’ We built a ballpark that if you squeezed everyone in would fit 10,000 people. Those postcards mattered. It was a constant reminder.”
In fact, many of those postcards hang on the wall of Polar Park’s main lobby on Madison Street.
Meanwhile, Rhode Island politics continued to erode the possibility of the PawSox staying in the Ocean State, and even though the team announced in May 2017 the plan to build a new ballpark in Pawtucket, it imploded July 2, 2017, when the Rhode Island state legislative session adjourned with no decision on ballpark funding.
Worcester kept on its full-court press to convince the PawSox to relocate, and the sides met in a private meeting on July 21, 2017, at Lock 50 restaurant on Water Street. Local government and business leaders hosted Lucchino & Co. on a tour around the Canal District to paint the picture of what a ballpark, and the surrounding area, could look like.
Just over a year later on Aug. 17, 2018, Lucchino made the official announcement he promised to build a state-of-the art facility and family-friendly ballpark that reflected the deep history of baseball in Central Massachusetts.
Across from Polar Park, construction continues at Green Island Boulevard and Madison Street.
The WooSox were officially born.
Polar Park was built, and the neighborhood around it continues to thrive. New projects are in the works for more residential, commercial and business growth around the ballpark.
“You take a look at what this piece of ground looked like four years ago, and how it was making no valuable contribution to the community,” Steinberg said. “You look at four years later, you have a full house for a 12:15 matinee filled with campers all over Central Massachusetts. (The WooSox won Wednesday, 2-1.) You see the role that a ballpark and ballclub can play in the community. It’s pretty dramatic to see in a four-year window.”
Even though the WooSox, as a concept, are 4 years old, the actual product of team and ballpark celebrated its second birthday earlier this season. So much has already happened in Worcester, and it’s only beginning.
“I hope, and think, and feel that we’re only at the beginning of the contribution Polar Park and the WooSox can make,” Steinberg said. “The fun has just begun.”
—Contact Joe McDonald at JMcDonald2@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @joeymachockey.