wbjournal.com | Janaury 25, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 3
Editor, Brad Kane,
bkane@wbjournal.com
News Editor, Grant Welker,
gwelker@wbjournal.com (Higher
education, health care, real estate)
Staff Writer, Monica Busch,
mbusch@wbjournal.com
(Manufacturing, equality & inclusion)
Editorial Intern
Aliya Larkin, alarkin@wbjournal.com
Contributors
Susan Shalhoub, Livia Gershon,
Sarah Connell
Lead Researcher, Timothy Doyle,
tdoyle@nebusinessmedia.com
Research Assistant, Heide Martin,
hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com
Production Director, Kira Beaudoin,
kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com
Art Director, Mitchell Hayes,
mhayes@wbjournal.com
Senior Accounts Manager
Christine Juetten,
cjuetten@wbjournal.com
Senior Special Accounts Manager
Mary Lynn Bosiak,
mlbosiak@wbjournal.com
Marketing & Events Manager
Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com
COO, Mary Rogers,
mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers,
rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Account Receivable Specialist,
Patty Harris,
pharris@nebusinessmedia.com
Human Resources, Jill Coran,
jcoran@nebusinessmedia.com
Director of Audience Development,
Valerie Clark,
vclark@nebusinessmedia.com
Operations Assistant,
Leah Allen,
lallen@nebusinessmedia.com
Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton
pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com
Associate Publisher, Mark Murray
mmurray@wbjournal.com
President, Tom Curtin
tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com
Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is
published bi-weekly, 24x per year, including 4 special
issues in May, September, October, and December by New
England Business Media. 172 Shrewsbury St., Worcester,
MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA.
Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please
send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal,
PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894.
Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for
$60.00. For more information, please email wbjournal@
cambeywest.com or contact our circulation department at
845-267-3008. Fax: 845.267.3478
Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark
Murray at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860.
Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for
unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does
not return them to the sender.
Worcester Business Journal
172 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA 01604
508-755-8004 tel.
• 508-755-8860 fax
www.wbjournal.com
Worcester Business Journal
WBJ
I
n this edition, you'll find peppered
pieces of news and opinion stem-
ming from the City of Worcester's
Jan. 8 announcement about the cost
of the new public baseball stadium
for the Worcester Red Sox rising to $157
million, which WBJ originally reported on
WBJournal.com.
e short feature article on page 6 de-
tails the rising costs, the terms of the con-
tract between the team and the city, and
how the Polar Park stadium has become
the most expensive minor league ballpark
ever built. On page 5 are the results of a
Flash Poll WBJ took of its online readers,
asking if they still support the project,
despite the cost increase. On the same
page is the related news on the team being
sued by its former home – Pawtucket, R.I.
– over stadium repair costs. Finally, in this
edition's opinion section on page 21 are the
handful of online comments WBJ received
regarding the effectiveness of the project.
e rising stadium costs are significant,
as the original estimate in 2018 to obtain
the land and build the stadium was $101
million. at rose to $132 million in Jan-
uary 2020, aer the city factored in some
unexpected acquisition costs and a rise in
construction expenses. e latest increase
to $157 million comes as the construction
team is working to finish the project by
its initial April deadline, even though the
coronavirus pandemic will likely change
the start of the WooSox season.
Yet, in terms of how people feel about
the potential success of this project, the
news of the cost increase seems insignifi-
cant. Based on the results of the Flash Poll,
it appears nearly everyone has dug into
their opinions about the project. I have no
doubt nearly all of its supporters would
claim success on the stadium, no matter
how high the costs rise; the City Council
and the Worcester Redevelopment Au-
thority still enthusiastically support the ex-
penditures. Conversely, even if the project
does yield significant development around
the stadium and the increased tax revenue
ends up creating a surplus for city coffers –
as city officials claim – its detractors would
decry it as a wasteful boondoggle.
Ultimately, when a city government
decides to spend a nine-figure sum to
support a single business, the steps before,
during and aer the expenditures will be
I N T H I S I S S U E
controversial. When that happens, I'd prefer
to see thoughtful analysis and conversation,
rather than two sides digging into their all-
or-nothing views; but that is not the world
we live in.
– Brad Kane, editor
e success of Polar Park
N E W S & A N A LY S I S
4 Central Mass. In Brief
12 Focus on Real estate
16 The List: Notable commercial sales
17 The List: Notable commercial leases
18 Column: The Hustle is Real
19 Know How
20 Movers & Shakers
20 Photo Finish
21 Opinion
22 Shop Talk: Galaxy Life Sciences
6 Polar Park costs rise
The new estimate for the costs of the new
stadium of the Worcester Red Sox baseball
team has risen to $157 million, making it
the most expensive minor league baseball
stadium ever built.
14 No malls
With the planned demolition of the
Greendale Mall, Worcester is exiting the
era where it was a regional indoor shopping
destination.
D E P A R T M E N T S
A division of:
W
Federally Insured by NCUA
ICCreditUnion.org/Business
Apply online today!
or if you have ques ons, call our Service Center
800.262.1001
2021 PPP Loans
are now available!
Whether your business currently
has an IC account or not,
We can help!
