Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal | August 21, 2017 | wbjournal.com C E N T R A L M AS S I N B R I E F T he Red Sox' top minor league affiliate is considering relocat- ing to Worcester, and that potential move has city offi- cials and local business leaders excited. Nearly 100 business leaders signed a letter from City Manager Edward Augustus to team owner and former Boston Red Sox president Larry Lucchino – who toured a potential Worcester ballpark site – urging him to move the team to Worcester. Among the business leaders signing the letter were Timothy Murray, presi- dent and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce; Laurie Leshin, president of Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Eric Dickson, president & CEO, UMass Memorial Health Care; and Michael Angelini, chairman of law firm Bowditch & Dewey. The next level Moving Triple A Red Sox from Pawtucket, R.I. to Worcester would bring the city's revitalized economy to the next level, said Augustus. Ed Russo, co-chair of the Canal District Business Network and was among those who signed the letter, said the move would be a significant invest- ment in Worcester and the growing business network in the Canal District, which includes the vacant Wyman Gordon property eyed for the ballpark. With the addition of minor league hockey team Worcester Railers coming to town and a practice facility being built in the Canal District, Russo said more development would help continue a grassroots rebuilding of the area that is more than a decade in the making. V E R B A T I M Coming on board "My feeling is that we have a lot of room for improvement. There's a lot of capability here." Luis Ramirez, general manager and CEO of the MBTA, on lead- ing the state's much-maligned public transportation system Sales tax holiday "We've heard from a lot of folks who said to us that this is really important to them. It's important to downtowns, it's important to main streets, and we just think it's the right thing to do. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on the state legislature's reluctance to hold a sales tax holiday this summer Heavy horseshoes "The president said, 'These are heavy,' and he told us he'd put them in his library." Peter St. Pierre, vice president of St. Pierre Manufacturing Corp. in Worcester, on his presenting weighted-tip pitching horseshoes to President Donald Trump during a White House visit Worcester businesses push for PawSox relocation BY ZACHARY COMEAU Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer P H O T O / G R A N T W E L K E R The Canal District Alliance, he said, has done great work in reshaping the business culture in the area, but it will take deep pockets from an organization like the Red Sox to finish the job. The site The main property eyes for the minor league stadium at 105 Madison St., valued at $3.64 million, is a brown- field, according to the Department of Environmental Protection. It has been the site of contamination of hydraulic oil and fluid, arsenic, eth- ene, lead, petroleum and other chemi- cals, according to DEP documents. The property would face a costly cleanup, but Russo said the land would be perfect for a ballpark. "It would be a perfect use for that space," he said. State support The team was seeking an $83-million stadium in Pawtucket and was asking for $38-million in public money from both the city and state to supplement the $45 million from the team to replace the aging McCoy Stadium. If Worcester were to come up with such a promise, the city's delegation on Beacon Hill would need to pitch the idea to the rest of the House and Senate to help pony up state support. To do so and garner more local sup- port among taxpayers, legislators and city leaders need to explain the money wouldn't come directly out of the pock- ets of residents, Russo said. W P H O T O / G R A N T W E L K E R The Worcester Bravehearts are the main baseball team in the city right now, typically breaking attendance records for the Futures Collegiate Baseball League.

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