PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A study suggests it wouldn’t be worthwhile for Rhode Island to invest in renovating the Pawtucket Red Sox stadium or building a new one at the site.
But Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo says she’s still open to investing. She said she wants the team to stay in Pawtucket.
The study released Friday assessed the suitability of 75-year-old McCoy Stadium for the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.
The architecture firm Pendulum Studio estimates renovations would cost $68 million. Demolishing it and building a new stadium at the site would cost $78 million.
The study says McCoy lacks diverse entertainment options and isn’t linked to redevelopment downtown. It questions whether investing to fix McCoy’s current deficiencies is warranted.
“It is highly unlikely that a typical goal of a public investment of this nature- to generate a significant return on that investment driven by ancillary development around a new stadium- will ever be realized at this site,” the study concludes.
The team, city and state paid for the $105,000 study.
The team’s owners wanted to build a stadium in Providence. A proposal seeking about $120 million from taxpayers was met by strenuous public opposition.
Raimondo said she doesn’t have a view on the best option going forward. Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien told The Providence Journal the city has looked for alternate stadium locations within Pawtucket, but McCoy Stadium could still work for the team.
The team says it’s digesting the full report and the “significant numbers” attached to the different options. It says it will continue working to find a way to keep the PawSox in Pawtucket.
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