WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - The public called the Pawtucket Red Sox move to Worcester a big win and a big undertaking during a Tuesday forum.
“You’re talking about the Triple-A affiliate for the Boston Red Sox, and there’s so many things going on in the city of Worcester,” said supporter Jean Martinez.
Martinez joined a chorus of people praising what many are affectionately calling the WooSox. The Worcester resident worked for the Pawtucket Red Sox the past two years.
“I’m just excited for the move,” Martinez said. “I’m glad for the city. I’m glad for the PawSox moving here. I’m just happy for everything.”
The move is a culmination of a year-long negotiation led by Worcester’s city manager. It calls for $100 million in city funds to build a 10,000-seat stadium in Kelley Square and $35 million in state dollars for a development city leaders say is sorely needed.
“It’s an area that’s only going to be uplifted by this project,” Worcester City Councilor Morris Bergman said. “(I) can’t think of one other project that, in one fell swoop, could uplift an area like this one will.”
But others aren’t convinced.
“Because of the kind of project it is, there naturally are going to be other kinds of expenses above and beyond,” said Tracy Novick, who is concerned about the move. “The brownfields in particular are one of those giant holes in the ground when it comes to expenses.”
The council says the next step is for the city’s economic development council to create a plan to pay for the project without raising taxes, a promise that is being met with both praise and skepticism.
“It’s the classic, ‘it will pay for itself,’ that’s what the argument has been,” Novick said. “And the problem is there doesn’t seem to be a lot of places where that’s actually happened.”
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