Fansided

Red Sox: PawSox becoming WooSox can be better in the long run

By Zach Derosia |
WORCESTER, MA - MARCH 20: A sewer grate is adorned with the name Worcester in an economically stressed section of the city on March 20, 2018 in Worcester, Massachusetts. Worcester, once a thriving manufacturing hub, has recently made moves into the medical industry, education and as a metropolitan hub for refugees in an attempt to revive its moribund economy. Like a growing number of Northeastern cities, Worcester has a chronic problem with homelessness and opioid addiction. The latest data in 2016 showed that 24.4% of Worcester residents were living below the poverty level. With overdoses increasing, the city plans to file litigation against pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors of opioid products. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
WORCESTER, MA - MARCH 20: A sewer grate is adorned with the name Worcester in an economically stressed section of the city on March 20, 2018 in Worcester, Massachusetts. Worcester, once a thriving manufacturing hub, has recently made moves into the medical industry, education and as a metropolitan hub for refugees in an attempt to revive its moribund economy. Like a growing number of Northeastern cities, Worcester has a chronic problem with homelessness and opioid addiction. The latest data in 2016 showed that 24.4% of Worcester residents were living below the poverty level. With overdoses increasing, the city plans to file litigation against pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors of opioid products. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Is moving the Triple-A Affiliate in-state a good idea for the Red Sox?

Back in November of last year, Major League Baseball announced their plan to realign and take just about total control over the Minor Leagues. The new contract between MLB and MiLB cuts team’s Minor League affiliates. Including the Boston Red Sox, down to only four teams (Low-A, High-A, AA, AAA). Along with totally cutting out short-season A level among others.

Some teams with the new agreement have dropped and/or brought on new teams to be affiliated with them. Such as the Nashville Sounds, who most recently were the AAA club for the Texas Rangers, have an agreement in place to now be in the Milwaukee Brewers organization at the same level.

The Red Sox did make one newsworthy change with moving the Triple-A Pawtucket (RI) Red Sox closer to home in Worcester, MA.

While that might not seem like much to some right now, in the not too far future it’ll be shown why the relocation was more than worth it. For the past 50 years, the Red Sox and the city of Pawtucket have had a great partnership. Within that time, the PawSox helped give us “The Longest Game”, a 33 inning professional-record duel with the Rochester Red Wings.  But like with a lot of things there comes a time for change and this is as good a time as any.

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McCoy Stadium (capacity: 10,031) has been their home for the whole 50 years. You would think in that amount of time there would be a lot of renovations to add more amenities to the stadium to make the experience better for the public. Well, that hasn’t exactly been the case for good ol’ McCoy. While they do have the Grant Thornton Suite, an inside/outside seating area for up to 30 people for a decent rate, with some extra amenities (luxury food, flat screen TV). Along with not being centrally located, that doesn’t make for an enticing place to watch America’s pastime in the modern day.

Ever since their International League Championship in 2014, according to an article by Tanner Rebelo of trifectanetworksports.com, the PawSox attendance has only gone up once compared to the previous year. The article also states that 2019, which ended up being the last season played in Pawtucket due to COVID-19, brought the lowest turnout in over 25 years.

To put it into perspective, as Rebelo shows in the article, the Newport Gulls, a summer college ball team, saw attendance go up 15% in their most recent season compared to the one before while the PawSox went down over 12%.

As mentioned earlier, McCoy Stadium doesn’t have many luxuries/amenities but it’s successor Polar Park has more than a few. While McCoy does have a higher capacity, we know amenities are what draw a lot of the more casual fans in.

Just to name a few amenities that Polar Park has, we can start with the big one, Left Field Market, a one-stop shop for everything you could need at a ballgame. Snacks, drinks, souvenirs. Not to mention, it’s autonomous shopping meaning no waiting in line. You grab what you want and as you walk out it scans everything and charges you for it. Then for families, there is a Kids Zone with a bunch of fun activities for children to do. Lastly, it’s reported there will also be a few restaurants and plenty of suites/party rooms.

On top of those great amenities, Polar Park is centrally located. It sits pretty much right between City Hall, Union Train Station, and the famed Kelly Square in Downtown Worcester. Kelley Square is known for being one of the most dangerous intersections. The construction of Polar Park has helped the city modify the roundabout to make it safer. That all should lead to people being able to get to the ballpark easier and quicker.

Next. Getting to know Red Sox pitching prospect Chase Shugart. dark

The trend of losing fans is bound to go the other, more positive, way once they are set in Worcester. Yes, there is uncertainty about fans being allowed in or not this year at all levels of professional baseball. With this season being the first for the team in Worcester, they might have to wait another year for those numbers to show an upward trend, but it will happen.

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