Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | December 11, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 3 small businesses, so their owners can cash out aer putting in the sweat equity to help build Worcester's unique character. It bothers me because all of this will happen again. – Brad Kane, editor L et's say you bought a house for $500,000, invested another $100,000 in renovations, wait- ed a few years for its value to rise, and sold it for $700,000. At its core, the concept of buying and selling a business is basically the same. e house that Larry Lucchino and nine other members of an ownership group bought in 2015 for a reported $25 million was the Pawtucket Red Sox. e house the majority of those owners are now selling in December to New York City corporation Diamond Baseball Holdings is the Worcester Red Sox, with their high attendance and shiny new baseball stadium. (See page 4.) e WooSox are being tight-lipped on the sale price, but I'm guessing those owners will at least double their investment. When you buy an older baseball team with slowly dropping attendance and aging infrastructure, the best way to pump up its valuation is new facilities. From the moment Lucchino bought the PawSox, he started talking about a new publicly financed ballpark. When plans for a $70-80 million Rhode Island stadi- um never got off the ground, the team in 2018 found a willing partner in the City of Worcester, which used public funds to construct the $160-million Polar Park, the most expensive minor league stadium ever built. Teams using public money to inflate their net worth is nothing new, and I don't really fault Lucchino for shop- ping around for the best deal. Still, it bothers me. It bothers me because someone has to pay for those costs. It bothers me because the stadium deal was sold to taxpayers as a pay-for- itself project, which is a house of cards set to crumble as early as this fiscal year. It bothers me because Worcester has the highest business tax rate in Central Mass. It bothers me because on page 12 in Staff Writer Eric Casey's "Act now, before it's too late" story, high-profile small busi- ness owners – who, unlike the WooSox, actually pay taxes either through their landlords or their own property – say all the community love they receive isn't translating into real dollars, and they are at risk of closing. It bothers me because the City of Worcester doesn't have $160 million to double the valuation of these Small business struggles; the rich get richer I N T H I S I S S U E 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 2023. 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 $84.00. For more information, please email circulation@wbjournal.com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. 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 A division of: Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com Staff Writers Eric Casey, ecasey@wbjournal.com (real estate, manufacturing) Isabel Tehan, itehan@wbjournal.com (Health care, diversity & inclusion) Contributors Giselle Rivera-Flores, Laura Finaldi, Monica Benevides, Alan Earls, Susan Shalhoub, Livia Gershon Photgraphers Matt Wright, Edd Cote, Christine Peterson Research Director, Stephanie Meagher, smeagher@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 Accounts Manager Timothy Doyle tdoyle@wbjournal.com Marketing & Events Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com Human Resources Manager, Tracy Rodwill, trodwill@nebusinessmedia.com Director of Finance, Sara Ward, sward@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers, rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Account Receivable Specialist, Patty Harris, pharris@nebusinessmedia.com Director of Audience Development and Operations, Leah Allen, allen@nebusinessmedia.com Business Office Assistant, Nicole Dunn, ndunn@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Associate Publisher, Mark Murray mmurray@wbjournal.com President, Tom Curtin tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S 19 101: Beating the year-end slump Advice columnist Emily Micucci offers three tips for businesses to avoid a loss of productivity during the holiday season. 21 Local business is good business Viewpoint opinion columnist Julie Bowditch urges company leaders to consider investing in the communities in which they operate, including by using local vendors and supporting local causes. 4 Central Mass. In Brief 14 Focus on Law & Accounting 16 List: Top law firms 17 List: Top accounting firms 18 Column: Outside the Box 19 Know How 20 Movers & Shakers 21 Opinion 22 Shop Talk: Vintage and Swoon A Sound Tax Structure? We Help Anticipate The Curves. Tax planning. It's a building block of business strategy and the cornerstone for informed decision making. Our tax attorneys have highly specialized knowledge and employ sophisticated tools. They look beyond general tax planning concepts to implement complex goals for charitable giving, succession planning, and more. And a good plan makes a strong structure. Regional Real Estate? Our World of Knowledge Can Bridge the Gap Between a Great Idea and a Grand Opening. Knowing the ins and outs of commercial real estate requires not only know-how but also knowing who. Our knowledge of local and regional markets allows us to assist you with the how and the why, the when and where, always with an eye on the time, regardless of the size of your project. Because when you have all of the right information, you're assured of making an enlightened decision. FletcherTilton.com W O R C E S T E R | F R A M I N G H A M | B O S TO N | C A P E CO D | P R OV I D E N C E Mark Donahue Todd Brodeur 508.459.8029 508.459.8083 Michael Duffy, Esq., CPA, LLM 508.459.8043 Dennis Gorman, Esq., CPA, LLM 508.459.8037 CORRECTION: A story from the Nov. 27 edition of WBJ entitled "From the field hospital to children's mental health, Letournear fulfilled critical roles during COVID" incorrectly said Courtney Le- tourneau is working as a nurse practitioner in the UMass Memori- al Medical Center Emergency Department. Her role is as a nurse. CORRECTION: A story from the Nov. 27 edition of WBJ enti- tled "Green ends career on a high note at Kennedy CHC" incor- rectly said Conover + Company Communications was based in Wisconsin. The company's headquarters was North Dartmouth, Massachusetts. W

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