Pawtucket Red Sox Moving to Providence
The Yoan Moncada signing isn’t the only big news in Beantown. In surprising news out of the minor league circuit, Boston Red Sox Triple A team the Pawtucket Red Sox will be relocating. It won’t be that far down the street, as they move just a few miles down the road to Providence, Rhode Island, but they will be vacating McCoy Stadium.
The PawSox will remain the PawSox for two more seasons as they build a new stadium in Providence. The team was recently sold to a ten person group for $20 million, and they are headed by Boston Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino.
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“The Boston Red Sox have enjoyed a productive relationship with the Pawtucket Red Sox for more than four decades,” said Lucchino in a press release. “The franchise has played key roles in the Red Sox’ historic success, both as a player development affiliate and as a Rhode Island home for affordable family entertainment.
“We seek to enhance those roles, and to honor the substantial contributions that [longtime PawSox owner] Ben Mondor and his loyal team have made to this community for generations.”
The goal is to build a stadium walking distance from downtown Providence and they will abandon their long term home in McCoy Stadium. Team president James Skeffington has said he would like to see the team name be the Rhode Island Red Sox. They have been known as the PawSox since 1977.
Lucchino being involved should give confidence as to the stadium. He has been involved with Camden Yards in Baltimore and Petco Park in San Diego, two of the most acclaimed ballparks in baseball. The Providence stadium should be state of the art, but McCoy was known as a historic landmark of a minor league park.
The ballpark, they hope, will be complete by April of 2017 and they are hoping an outfield fence can border the coast line of Providence, akin to San Francisco’s AT&T Park.
McCoy Stadium is the oldest stadium in the International League and is one of the oldest parks in modern baseball. Skeffington says that in a few years it won’t be usable for the team.
Former PawSox owner Ben Mondor bought the team in 1977 after Boston placed their highest minor league affiliate in Pawtucket in 1973. Montor died in 2010, and his wife Madeline became the owner before she sold it to this group.
Of the ten owners, each will own 10 percent of the team. Lucchino will be the chairman and Skeffington the president. The Rhode Island Red Sox will be a member of Fenway Sports Group.
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