Worcester continues efforts as PawSox decision looms
Photo | Grant Welker
The vacant site, center, is eyed as the possible home of the Pawtucket Red Sox in Worcester.
Legislation passed by the Rhode Island House and Senate last week aimed at keeping the Pawtucket Red Sox from moving to Worcester has yet to be signed by Gov. Gina Raimondo, and the team has yet to commit to staying in its longtime home town.
In a statement, PawSox Senior Vice President of Communications Bill Wanless told WBJ the team is still in talks with Worcester, and no timetable has been set on a decision.
City Manager Ed Augustus in a Wednesday statement said the city continues to have regular discussions with the team.
Augustus said he and his team are “doing everything (they) can to present Worcester as an idea location for their new home.”
The city has been publicly courting the team to build a new stadium in the Canal District, but details of any proposal from the city or state have been scant. However, Rhode Island officials and legislators have publicly said the Worcester deal is rumored to be much more agreeable for the team.
The comments come as some in Rhode Island can already feel the team slipping away. Senate President Dominick Ruggerio told a local radio station Wednesday morning that he’s not overly optimistic.
Casting more doubt on the state’s prospects of keeping its minor league baseball team is a state treasury memo on the bill saying the proposal would cost the city and state $92 million in debt payments over the 30-year life of the project’s bonds.
Rhode Island State Treasurer Seth Magaziner’s office released an analysis of what the project would actually cost, including debt service, and that came out to about $3.2 million annually at an estimated 5.7-percent interest without the state’s good bond rating backing the project.
The bill calls for an $83-million ballpark to be built on the former Apex Cos. retail site in Pawtucket, with the city and state contributing $15 million and $23 million, while the team would cover the remaining $45 million.
According to the Providence Journal, the project debt will cost about $900,000 more annually than a Senate bill passed in January with the project backstopped by taxpayers.
The treasury’s memo, released Tuesday, said there is a high-degree of uncertainty about the project, including the cost of the bonds and the market’s appetite for purchasing the bonds.
The single-most important factor to make the proposal successful is the size of the tax increment financing area the Pawtucket Redevelopment Agency is proposing to generate revenues sufficient to pay for the bonds, the memo said.
The legislation was not specific in the district’s exact size or location, but the treasury’s analysis included a district sufficient to produce 1.6 times the annual required debt service of between $5.1 million and $5.2 million to help pay off the bonds.
The memo did note, however, that excess revenues could be used to buy back the bonds and lower the potential cost to taxpayers and save millions in interest.
Despite the concerns and the team's unwillingness to commit to staying in Rhode Island despite the bill's passage, Pawtucket and team officials are expected to attempt to hash out a deal this week, according to Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien's office.
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