A proposed lease agreement between the Worcester Red Sox and the City of Worcester commits the city to at least $15 million in infrastructure improvements around Polar Park in addition to the ballpark's roughly $157-million cost.
The Rhode Island city of Pawtucket is suing the now-Worcester Red Sox for what it alleges are the team's failure to perform required maintenance and repair of their longtime home, the city-owned McCoy Stadium.
The cost of building Polar Park, the new home of the minor league Worcester Red Sox, has risen to $157 million, Worcester officials said Friday afternoon, reflecting cost increases stemming largely from the coronavirus pandemic.
With the increase, the public facility will become the most expensive minor league baseball stadium ever built, surpassing the inflation adjusted $153-million home of the Las Vegas Aviators.
The WooSox have committed to covering the latest overruns, which the city says total $17.3 million, according to a memo to the Worcester City Council made public late Friday.
With potentially less than three months until the stadium s opening, the city has also reached a tentative lease agreement with the baseball team, which now requires approval from the Worcester Redevelopment Authority. The City Council will also need to approve $14 million, including fees and interest, in new borrowing to cover most of the project s latest overruns, which will then be repaid by t
By Timothy P. Murray
Last year, the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce came out in full support of Mayor Joseph Petty, City Manager Edward Augustus, and a majority of the City Council in their efforts to explore the feasibility of bringing the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate to Worcester.
These efforts were not simply about bringing a major league baseball affiliate and new ballpark to Worcester, but about whether a new ballpark could serve as a catalyst for the reuse of the 22-acre Wyman Gordon site, which has been substantially vacant for decades. In fact, the Wyman-Gordon property was included in the Worcester Redevelopment Authority s Urban Revitalization Plan, which was adopted by the City Council last year. This plan recognized its blighted condition, making it eligible for eminent domain. The Urban Revitalization Plan was to redevelop this property in a manner that would create jobs and expand the tax base.