It was all so predictable, and we did.
Worcester Business Journal has an article on the problems Polar Park is having.
Brad Kane of Worcester Business Journal has an in-depth look at Polar Park problems. In the November, 2018 Sturbridge Times Town & Country Living Magazine we completely predicted a debacle. Okay, maybe we only guessed at it.
Anyway, wooing teams to set up in your town is not often a success. Below is our column from the magazine on why you shouldn’t try this at home.
Go Sox Go
The excitement is palpable. Worcester is getting its own baseball team, the Worcester Red Sox, or as they are already being nicknamed, WooSox. A civic renaissance is being predicted...again.
Here in Sturbridge and environs, we can only be jealous as there will never be a pro team with a catchy moniker like, say, the Sturbridge Wild Turkeys (the unofficial regional bird) easily nicknamed the Sturkeys. No stadium complex to lure fans in and get them to spend money in restaurants and shops. The injustice of it all. We are at the confluence of two major highways and that in itself should be a draw. Worcester, off of Route 290, is all too often a traffic snarl.
Worcester will have those visions of people filling the stands and after, patronizing local bars and restaurants and in the process, spending a fortune in the city known as the “Heart of the Commonwealth,” or less reverently, “Wormtown.”
Still, maybe we are not so bad off. The second largest city in New England has a history of schemes. Some, but not all have fulfilled the hype.
When I first came to Worcester from Boston in the early 80s, there was a shopping center downtown known as the Galleria with a number of well-known chain stores as well as some independents. It was a spiffy venue and it was never over-crowded. That was the problem. As time went on, under-crowded would be more in evidence. There was a bookstore and I would spend the occasional lunch hour without having to worry about being bothered by other shoppers as I read.
The downward spiral led to the Galleria closing. Then someone got the idea of resurrecting the mall and bringing in new tenants and a new name. Funding was secured provided the city would allow Tax Incremental Financing or TIF. A TIF, is a big tax break that the average homeowner never gets.
So, the new Worcester Common Outlets had a good opening day, but after that, the downhill slide was even faster and the venue was eventually demolished. The city fathers had not backed a winner.
To be fair, The DCU Center has been a success, or so it seems as it has been difficult to get much information on the original financing. There are a lot of events with top talent. The record in keeping sports teams is not that good. Two hockey teams came and are gone. The Railers are the current effort. One can only hope the third time's a charm at the DCU.
In the PawSox to WooSox gambit, the team had to be lured to Worcester. The city has some experience in wooing (pun intended) development. In the 60s the Umass Medical School arrived. No investment was required from the municipal government. It pays to have some sharp people elected to the General Court.
Can the City of Worcester score another success like the Med School? They better, because this time they are betting big money.
It was not much of a bidding war to get the franchise to move. Rhode Island was willing to pony up $38 million for a new stadium against Worcester’s $100.8 million. That figure is, however, not the total, but what the city will put on the credit card.
There are other infrastructure costs that will expand that figure significantly, and, people of Sturbridge and area towns, don’t think you will be left out. The Commonwealth is picking up $35 million and taxpayers outside of Wormtown will have their share to cover.
Who knows, maybe it will all work out, the bonds will be retired, the new hotels will always be filled and stadium attendance will set new records every year. City manager Ed Augustus will be hailed as a man with such unparalleled foresight that he will someday be elected governor by acclamation.
We referred the question as to whether or not this is a good idea to our official think tank, The Long Hill Institute for the Study of Stadium Deals and Other Boondoggles. With a level of reflection that can be described as less than vanishingly small, they suggested taking the money to the new MGM casino in Springfield might yield a better return. At least the period of suspense would be shorter. Also, the buffet is really good.
This is not to say there are not others spending more time on the subject. The Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis says that most economists oppose stadium subsidies because “Consumers who spend money on sporting events would likely spend the money on other forms of entertainment, which has a similar economic impact. Rather than subsidizing sports stadiums, governments could finance other projects such as infrastructure or education that have the potential to increase productivity and promote economic growth.”
So, if you don’t buy a ticket to the WooSox, that does not mean you won’t spend your entertainment dollars somewhere. There is not usually a large net benefit to a stadium, if at all.
Even worse news for those who have an edifice complex about stadiums came over the radio. They can be expensive losers. According to an August 23, 2018 WBUR FM broadcast segment reported by Callum Borchers, there are several cities who have had financial problems with their projects. Nashville taxpayers had to pay more than expected. Remember the baseball movie, Bull Durham? Well the city that film was about is still paying for a white elephant built 23 years ago. El Paso is having money problems with their ballpark.
There is a bright spot in Charlotte, NC. Their project is not doing badly. The city used a different approach. They refused to pick up the tab.
Maybe, everything will go right in Worcester. The city will pay off the debt and the park will be filled and then, when there has been a bond established between team and fans, management will be offered a better deal in another city and it will be sayonara WooSox.
Count your blessings Sturbridge. After all, OSV isn’t ever going anywhere.
Full disclosure, your columnist was a baseball fanatic as a child, but now almost never watches a game. Growing up, he thought Fenway Park a shrine, if not a basilica. Though he has not been there in over thirty years, and does not even follow the team, if it were ever torn down and the Sox left town, his heart would break.