The Boston Red Sox are in the thick of the hunt for a major league playoff spot. RIPR political analyst Scott MacKay outlines the different challenges facing the team’s top minor league affiliate, the Pawtucket Red Sox.
Rhode Island’s Boys of Summer are back at McCoy Stadium. Despite a rainy spring that was the coldest in a decade, the fans are streaming back to the historic ballpark in the faded birthplace of America’s Industrial Revolution.
The PawSox endured five early-season rain outs, including opening night. But attendance has been up since, meaning that the team is likely to exceed last year crowds that drew about 466,000 to McCoy.
When the season began, the new team ownership was candid about the need to rebuild trust with the fans and Rhode Island’s and Pawtucket’s political hierarchy. The original ownership group left a rancid taste in the mouth of many fans and taxpayers. They proposed building moving the team from McCoy to a new ballpark that was to be built on the downtown Providence waterfront. That six-mile move would have required a $120 million taxpayer subsidy to build the new facility.
When fans, politicians and taxpayers balked, the new owners stirred up more hard feelings when they said that without the juicy public subsidy, they would consider moving the team outside Rhode Island.
McCoy Stadium and the PawSox are a storied minor-league franchise, steeped in local and International League history. The team was saved from oblivion by the late Ben Mondor, who in 1977 bought the faltering franchise, sparing it from bankruptcy.
Under the avuncular Mondor, the franchise flourished. He put the focus on family entertainment, cracking down on the drinking and rowdiness that chased fans away. `Where the Dreams Begin’ was the motto, reminding baseball devotees that McCoy was the place to see Fenway’s future stars develop big league skills.
The longest game in professional baseball history was played at McCoy, a 33-inning marathon that was immortalized in Dan Barry’s book, `The Bottom of the 33rd.: Hope, Redemption and Baseball’s Longest Game.’
But history doesn’t fill the stands or pay the bills. McCoy Stadium turns 75 next year. Like an old dowager, it needs a facelift. The team, its host city and the state are jointly paying for an expert consultant study that is designed to tell everyone what it will take to upgrade McCoy into a 21st century Triple A stadium.
The new ownership’s executives have worked diligently to rebuild the trust of state officials. Dan Rea, team general manager, says the new attitude is one of cooperation, not confrontation. Everyone knows that whoever is paying a consultant can mostly dictate the terms of the result. That the team, state and city are each financing a third of the study means that no party will have “its fingerprints’’ on it.
Gov. Gina Raimondo’s economy czar, Stefan Pryor, state commerce secretary, says he recently took in a game and had a great experience. “I think it’s a lovely park and has a certain charm because of its age,’’ he says.
There is precedent for state help in improving city-owned McCoy. In the 1990s, under the administration of Republican Gov. Lincoln Almond, the state floated about $13 million in bonds to help Mondor fix up the ballpark and add new seats. The plan was helped by Almond’s friendship with Mondor and the clout of Pawtucket’s General Assembly delegation, which at the time included House Speaker John Harwood and House Finance Chairman Antonio Pires.
After that upgrade, the franchise flourished, shattering attendance records and regularly drawing more fans that minor league teams in larger markets. A crucial factor in fan support, says Mike Tamburro, team vice-chairman, is the fate of the parent club in Boston. Interest in the PawSox is piqued more by the Red Sox success than how the minor league affiliate is doing.
This year, the PawSox have brought fans back with an array of promotions. They have held the usual baseball-related attractions, such as the new PawSox Hall of Fame and allowing youngsters to run the bases after games and met players before games for autographs. They have also held a LGBT night and added fireworks displays after games.
“I’d say the new ownership is really trying hard,’’ says Jim Dawson of Pawtucket, a staunch fan and 20-year season ticket holder.
Ticket prices have been kept low, starting at $6. It’s cheaper to take a car load of kids to McCoy than the parking fees around Fenway. The baseball is, as always, fabulous .
As the season winds down, you’ve still got time to take in a game. The team is committed to McCoy until 2020. Shortly after Raimondo became governor, she said she didn’t want to lose the PawSox to another state on her watch. Let’s hope she still has that attitude when the bill to improve McCoy comes due.
Scott MacKay’s commentary can be heard every Monday on Morning Edition at 6:45 and 8:45 and at 5:44 on All Things Considered. You can also follow his political reporting and analysis at our `On Politics’ blog at RIPR.org
