Celtics' Maine affiliate won't move to Worcester
Photo/Peter Van Allen
The Maine Red Claws currently play at the 3,000-seat Portland Exposition Building.
Worcester's hopes of possibly landing a second minor league affiliate of a Boston professional sports team won't become reality.
The Boston Celtics announced their purchase of the Maine Red Claws on Tuesday and said they will be keeping the team in Portland.
“This is where the franchise is, and we’re not moving it," Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck said at a press conference, according to The Portland Press Herald.
The Worcester City Council voted in September to have City Manager Edward Augustus contact the Celtics to explore the potential of moving the team's affiliate to Worcester. The Celtics bought the Red Claws from its longtime Maine ownership team this summer, with a lease at the Portland Expo Arena through the end of the 2024 season.
But Celtics President Rich Gotham said there were never talks with Worcester about a move.
“We’ve had no conversations like that at all,” Gotham said, according to the website The Athletic. “Not a single conversation."
Another Boston sports affiliate is still on the way to Worcester, with the minor league baseball Pawtucket Red Sox planning to begin play in the Canal District in the spring of 2021. Site work for the team's ballpark, Polar Park, is underway off Madison Street.
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