Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal | November 28, 2022 | wbjournal.com L A W & A C C O U N T I N G FOCUS BY KEVIN KOCZWARA WBJ Staff Writer I n their first two seasons at the Polar Park baseball stadium, the Worcester Red Sox attract- ed a combined 894,507 fans to their home games in the Canal District, ranking sixth among all minor league teams in both years. Yet, the number of fans has little to do with the promise of the $160-milion public ballpark paying for itself through new developments and added tax revenue. Former city manager Edward Augustus called this pay- for-itself plan the guiding North Star when making financial decisions on the project that enticed the team's co- owner and chairman, Larry Lucchino, to move the Boston Red Sox's top minor league affiliate out of Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 2021. e new City administration echoes Augustus' sentiment. "It is going to pay for itself," said Eric Batista, who on Nov. 16 took over as Worcester's city manager. "at is what the goal is, and that is what we are aiming for. We don't have any fear right now of anything changing." In order to cover its $3.9-million annual payment for fiscal 2022 on its 30-year bond, the City needed the special taxing district around the stadium to generate $2 million in revenue. It got $655,374. However, that number was bolstered by the one-time, $3-million sale of public property along Green Street in November 2021 to the owner of e Cove proposed development. at sale not only made up for the ballpark district's revenue shortfalls in the last two fiscal years, but it already gives the City about half of the needed $2.7 million for the fiscal 2023 payment. at will help, too, as the planned commercial and residential developments around Polar Park – on which the stadium repayment plan is largely dependent – are unlikely to contribute significant tax revenues in fiscal 2023, which ends on June 30. Bonus developments When the stadium was first an- nounced in August 2018, the pay-for- itself plan was centered around six proposed buildings from Boston devel- oper Madison Properties. at Madison development was originally planned to start coming online in January 2021, but it has significantly shrunk in size and been delayed. None of the buildings are open yet, and the first – the 228-unit South of Madison apartment complex – is slated for a mid-2023 opening. Yet, City officials like Batista and Chief Development Officer Peter Dunn remain confident in the pay-for-itself PHOTO | MATT WRIGHT Polar Park first opened for baseball games in May 2021 and construction on the sta- dium was fully complete later that year. Paying Polar Park's debt To meet its latest financial obligations for the ballpark, the City of Worcester needed revenues from its stadium taxing district to raise $2M. It got $3.7M, although 82% of that came from the one- time sale of nearby property. Fiscal 2021 $2.1 million $1.46 million $640,000 $391,000 Fiscal 2022 $3.9 million $1.9 million $2 million $3,655,374** Fiscal 2023 $4.8 million $1.9 million $2.7 million N/A Amount Amount city Amount city covered by needs generated generated Total bond capitalized from ballpark from ballpark Fiscal year payment due interest taxing district* taxing district* Polar Park payments The amounts vary each year for what the City of Worcester has to pay toward the bonds it took out to cover the costs of building the $160-million Polar Park baseball stadium. *Revenue sources include property taxes, meals taxes, parking, and team lease payments **Includes the one-time $3-million sale of public property for The Cove mixed-use development Source: City of Worcester Larry Lucchino, chairman of Worcester Red Sox

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