Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal | June 10, 2019 | wbjournal.com Polar Park will join the stadium trend of elaborate features for a more immersive fan experience BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor Ballpark amenities have gotten more elaborate, with construction costs to match, with features like the table setting and building overlooking the field at Segra Park in Columbia, S.C. (top) and the pool at Dr. Pepper Park in Frisco, Texas (above). A R C H I T E C T U R E & C O N S T R U C T I O N F OC U S The ballpark arms race W orcester's planned Polar Park touts ballpark views from a brick building standing just beyond le field. Such a building, a central compo- nent of still-in-the-works designs for $101-million Polar Park, would cer- tainly stand out at the spartan McCoy Stadium, the longtime home of the Pawtucket Red Sox, who plan to move to Worcester in 2021. McCoy Stadium, which opened in 1942, has virtually no features that would land it on a must-see list for baseball fans. A renovation two decades ago added a grassy outfield berm, but even that feature isn't enough to keep up with ballparks today with amenities fans would normally expect to see in top-level Major League Baseball, includ- ing luxury boxes and plush oversized seating. Diversions taking fans' eyes off the game action are more common- place, from bars and fire pits to table games and swimming pools. As Worcester and PawSox officials begin to finalize architecture and construction plans for the fourth most expensive minor league ballpark ever constructed, they are entering an arms race in stadium design meant to entice people to buy tickets to an experience much more elaborate than simply watching a baseball game. Kevin Reichard, the publisher of the website Ballpark Digest, calls each area something like a neighborhood appealing to different fans: fixed seats for die-hards, suites for entertaining and corporate gatherings, pools and a bar for families, and casual seating areas for younger adults. "at model seems to be the case for any new facility out there," Reichard said. "People don't sit in their seats for the whole game anymore." Adding costly features Until around two decades ago, minor league ballparks were much more util- itarian. e parks were cheap to build and the games affordable to attend. But that's sharply changed, especially in the past decade, in what can feel like a competition of who can spend the most money for stadium amenities. Rafi Kohan, the author of the book "e Arena", which explores the evolu- tion of stadiums and fan experiences, said teams are paying far more attention to drawing fans to the game – even if it's for reasons other than the game itself. Kohan said new amenities might be little more than ways to draw more revenue out of fans. "is sort of community versus corporate feel is evident at many new stadiums, and I think owners need to tread lightly, lest they destroy that special thing that has always kept fans coming to games: a sense of commu- nion," he said. Jonathan Emmett, a principal and de- sign director for the sports architecture firm Gensler, told the industry maga- zine Stadia this spring stadium designs today are designed for hospitality and social experiences. "No matter what sport," he said, "venues are increasingly focused on hospitality and enhancing the fan experience." As the list of features have risen, so have price tags, corresponding to ever-larger public contributions, leaving teams to no longer having to worry about new parks being economically feasible. Worcester is covering roughly $65 million of the cost of Polar Park. "Another aspect of the minor league ballpark revolution, specifically, is surely a trickle-down effect of the public subsi- dy craze for pro facilities," Kohan said. Rail lines & diner cars As the PawSox and Worcester work with architects to design Polar Park, Worcester's stadium will have a high bar to reach. e price tag is high, too: $101 million, including buying and knocking down existing buildings on the site. at price makes Polar Park the fourth most expensive minor league park ever built when adjusted for inflation, ac- cording to a Worcester Business Journal review of minor league stadiums. e architecture firm designing Polar Park, Somerville-based DAIQ Archi- tects, has played a role in some iconic stadiums, including modern upgrades to Fenway, the Rose Bowl and Dodger Stadium. Janet Marie Smith, a renowned sports architect who designed Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore and now works for the Los Angeles Dodgers, is consulting on the project. While the design team finalizes its plan for Polar Park, a master plan last year showed a range of inspirational looks the team was considering largely a brick industrial atomsphere. Initial renderings showed a Fenway Park-like design, right down to a Green Monster and Fenway's same field dimensions, but planners later said that was unlikely. Other than the le field brick build- ing, one known feature of Polar Park will be the rail line along the third-base line, similar to an amenity offered at stadiums in Greenville, S.C., Fayetteville, N.C., El Paso, Texas, and Binghamton, N.Y. Other potential features, WooSox officials have said, could include a diner car beyond center field in an homage to eateries have long dotting Worcester's landscape. Ferris wheels, carousels & more Modern minor league parks have the elaborate brick facades fans once saw only at Fenway Park in Boston or its more modern copycats in Major League Baseball. ere are other head-turning features, too. In Davenport, Iowa, an 110-foot Ferris wheel sits beyond le field, near PHOTO/COURTESY FRISCO ROUGH RIDERS PHOTO/COURTESY "THE OUTFIELD"

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