Pawtucket Red Sox to move to Providence?

Some interesting pieces of information about the proposed new stadium/location:

According to WPRI (http://wpri.com/2015/02/23/sources-new-paw-sox-owners-want-to-leave-pawtucket-for-providence/):

"The stadium would be paid for by the new owners, but they would require the state to give them land at no cost, according to sources. The owners are eying the vacant former I-195 land downtown, which the state borrowed $38.4 million to buy back in 2013. The money, plus interest, is supposed to be repaid with the proceeds from selling the land."

Also from WPRI (http://wpri.com/2015/02/23/new-pawsox-owners-will-seek-state-city-support/):

"Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the proposal told Eyewitness News the ownership group wants the state to give up part of the land it owns at no cost.

But state law requires “the sale or lease of all such surplus parcels of land at fair market value, and the re-use and development of such parcels will be beneficial to the city of Providence and the state and advantageous to the public interest.”

A separate provision in the law states that part of the land the owners want to use “shall be developed and continued to be used as parks or park supporting activity.”

The PawSox owners would need state lawmakers to amend those laws in order to begin their project. The group has hired Robert Goldberg, a former Senate minority leader who has become one of the state’s most influential lobbyists, to represent its interests at the State House."

Considering that the new ownership group is asking for a $34.8 million handout and multiple changes to Rhode Island law, I'm even more skeptical than I was yesterday that this new stadium construction plan will come to fruition. And if it does, I'll be even more disappointed in the state of Rhode Island state politics.

I cannot imagine that Curt Schilling should have anything to do whatsoever with what Rhode Island does with a new park in Providence. But politics never makes sense.

See I will now see myself going to games in providence and making a night of it than in Pawtucket. I love the city of Providence; it's a great p,a e to go hangout, etc. You can go in early hangout, get some food and catch the game. Pawtucket blows.

I can see both sides of this. My initial reaction to this news was that going to Providence to see games is a much more attractive proposition than going to Pawtucket to see them. However, there's also a lot of ways the experience could get worse; i.e. the new stadium isn't really near any of the parts of Providence I'd want to visit, traffic could be bad, parking could be expensive... it could end up being a lot more hassle and money for an experience that's not really any better. Basically I'm fairly ambivalent to the general idea, it's the execution that matters.

Also, taxpayer funded stadiums are an unmitigated evil and if that's what this ends up being I'm 100% opposed.

I think that I might be more interested in this topic than any healthy person should (it combines some of my favorite elements of sports, politics, business, and urban planning), but if you share my interest in this topic, I suggest that you check out the comments sections on the local media websites and social media pages.

I don't usually put too much stock in the comments sections, but the feedback from Rhode Islanders about this proposed stadium plan is overwhelmingly negative. The legacy of Studio 38 cast a heavy shadow on this plan, and I don't think that I'm being unfair to say that comments are 99 to 1 opposed to the new plan.

And now, to change topics, I love spending time in Providence. My wife went to Brown from 2005 and 2009 and we still spend a good amount of time in the city, but the parking situation (especially anywhere away from College Hill or the mall), is atrocious and/or expensive. If the new stadium is expected to seat 10,000 people, I'd expect that it would need approximately (being conservative) 3,000 parking spaces to meet the needs of its fans. I've looked at where the new stadium will be located and I have no idea where they could get even close to that number.

There might be space to build a stadium, but where are people going to park?

Funny story: the richer you get, the less stuff you have to pay for.

I just wanted to address something I saw a couple of commenters mention, though I did see someone already respond to it. The new stadium in Hartford, Conn. is for a move by the New Britain Rock Cats, who are actually in a situation similar to the Pawsox, moving from a suburban area, a few miles away, more into the heart of the bigger metropolitan area.

I think a 20-year lease at a nominal rate makes more sense than gifting the land. If the plot were larger than necessary for a ball park, then it could make sense to grant sufficient land for a ballpark, making the remaining land more valuable. That's the US government acquired DC.

I agree that too much tax support is a bad idea. That said, I think this could be the next big step in revitalizing Providence (more than 15 years since the last step was taken I might add). The state would have to give something, but a continuing contribution is BS. Just giving the land seems like more than enough to me. Any other land outside of the stadium itself should be purchased. The stadium itself should be privately financed. The road and other improvements should be partially supported by private funds as well IMHO.

I think what the Sox have done to the Fenway area should absolutely be considered revitalization. Look at all of the construction, and the new restaurants, and the much less seedy bars. And really all they got from the city was air rights over Landsdowne and closing one street 81 times a year. That "welfare" payment is absolutely worth it.

ADD: I don't doubt the same would have happened with a Gillette Stadium on the waterfront (earlier than the current timeline), but at what cost? Kraft was probably looking for too much money/favors/land/infrastructure, (plus Football is a different animal, 8 home games, plus tailgating, etc.) I think people get confused between situations where the net cost has been a negative, vs situations where the net has been positive, but also the team/owner/sporting event has been the biggest winner. Is that such a bad thing that someone wins big as long as everyone else wins some? Especially in a place as stagnant as Providence has been, I think this is worth exploring... for the right price. maybe there's a better location. Or a better deal to be had, but don't just shout it down.

I dunno. The massive economic boost provided by a minor league ballclub is what turned the town of Pawtucket into the vibrant powerhouse of industry and culture that it is today after all.