A nonprofit in Worcester (Mass.) says they are ready to talk new ballpark with the Pawtucket Red Sox (Class AAA; International League), should the team be ready to move away from Rhode Island.
That a Massachusetts city is willing to woo the PawSox is not a surprise — we predicted that towns like Worcester, Springfield and New Bedford would love a chance to woo a Boston Red Sox farm team — so the news that the nonprofit Canal District Alliance Inc. was willing to discuss a new ballpark is no surprise:
More specifically, the group recommends building it on the site that was formerly home to the Wyman-Gordon complex, a spot that is about a long home run away from Harding Street, which was built over the abandoned Blackstone Canal.
The Canal District group would want a reopened canal to be part of any ballpark plan. Architect John Paul Raymond has created images and a video flyover of how a stadium would fit into a larger plan that includes a Blackstone Canal filled with water as it was for part of the 19th century.
On Monday night, the Alliance passed a resolution “To move forward in making contact with the PawSox, and make every effort to encourage them to meet with us and discuss a possible project.
“We’d like to invite them to our neighborhood to look at our plans for the future, and how this could be the crowning jewel. This group recognizes the city’s desire to develop this property and we’d like to be the business association to help them do this.”
Now, we don’t expect a final ballpark to look anything close to what’s being pitched here — this is a very plain facility that isn’t really worthy of a Triple-A team. But the fact that there’s solid interest in the PawSox in Massachusetts should cause some concern in Rhode Island circles. Particularly among those who don’t think there’s a chance the team will ever leave McCoy Stadium.
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