Fiscal 2023 DIF Account

Common Sense Comment

 Pawtucket is not 1/2 hour away. This whole notion of why we can’t have good things in Worcester because other cities 1/2 hour to 1 hour away have options for us is ridiculous. Same could be said for the airport…Boston, Providence and Manchester are 1 hour away so why have an airport in Worcester? Stupidity. We are the second largest city in New England. We need to act like it. Instead we have a blog that wants warehouses and parking lots littered throughout the city. Dumb.

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Where on this blog have we ever said we want only warehouses and parking lots or that we do not want good things in Worcester???  

Fiscal accountability to the taxpayers is not Dumb.





Comments

wormtown said…
Complaining that attendance is up 24% at the Worcester Red Sox games is dumb. Stating that other cities have things only 1/2 hour from here so we have no need to have them in Worcester is dumb. And there have been multiple comments about putting in an Amazon warehouse and the need for more parking lots. Like having to walk a few extra blocks to get to your destination is too hard for people. Only in Worcester.
Anonymous said…
People have made comments on this blog before how it would’ve been more beneficial if the parking lot just stayed there compared to the stadium because the tax payers wouldn’t be getting screwed over as part of the deal. I think that’s what being referred too here. The only complaint about the attendance being up is the city gets no benefit from it because they don’t get any additional money if the Woosox attendance is better. They’ll say it’s a good impact on the economy because more people will be supporting local businesses but then what if your a resident and want to go to a business on Green Street for dinner? You use to always be able to find either street parking that was free (after a certain time) or a parking lot that wasn’t charging $20-$25 since a baseball game that your not going too is taking place down the street. The ballpark has already been selling out more games this year but it’s still a joke that you can’t go to downtown worcester like you could 5 years ago and not have to spend 10 minutes finding a parking spot on game day, having to pay for parking, or having to walk a bit to go to a restaurant. What if it’s someone on crutches? A wheelchair? Or an older couple looking to go out to celebrate a special occasion with their kids and possibly grandkids? Sometimes walking those extra blocks can be difficult especially in an area where the Woosox stadium is where your almost guaranteed to see homeless people roaming the streets or sleeping on the sidewalk after 9pm. I go to that area once a week for work & when I go down there in the early evening and get out at 11pm, I don’t think there’s ever been a time where I haven’t seen homeless people approaching others asking for money.

Worcester doesn’t need to hop on the trend of selling land to build warehouses but Worcester has other things that should be built. That hotel that is supposed to be built across the street from the stadium, that should’ve been one of the first things open even before the ballpark. Just in that hotel alone, you’ll have visiting teams staying there, fans that travel over an hour away (especially if a player like Chris Sale rehabs in Worcester which he is expected to do again this season), sport teams that have tournaments at the Worcester Ice Center or New England Sports Center (Worcester Ice Center is typically the first rink NESC goes too when they need more ice for games), and then people who go to Polar Park for other events if they ever happen. I definitely think that the hotel will probably have the greatest benefit for whatever is being built but the question remains if it’ll ever happen. The Home2 Suites across from Union Station was suppose to break ground earlier this year but I don’t believe has, and that hotel would be beneficial if that commuter train line they want to have go from Boston to Worcester to Springfield and eventually to Pittsfield ever opens. That hotel would not only add benefits to commuters in Worcester for business, but everything I mentioned before about the benefit of the hotel being opened across from the ballpark, other than the visiting teams playing at Polar Park staying there, all of the other benefits would factor in to that hotel as well especially since people who travel to see a Woosox game can just spend the night then walk across the street and hop on a train to go back home if they choose to do that. Could even use that hotel as a crew quarters for flight attendants & pilots that have flights out of ORH. Not sure how JetBlue does it but you could have it where a crew works till 6pm, send them to Worcester either by train or drive, have them stay across the street from the station, then shuttle them up to ORH the next day. Before I get asked “why can’t the Homewood Suites do that already?” Homewood Suites was built for people who were staying in Worcester long term for business. If those two hotels can break ground finally and be built, they can easily be 2 of the more successful hotels in the city just like how the AC hotel is now.
4th gen local said…
For once, I totally agree with Gary. The 2nd largest city needs nice things for not just quality of life, but for revenue generation and to draw more businesses and residents.......both tax generating sources. If the ballpark was a half hour away, we'd be going to Pawtucket with our wallets. Visiting teams would be staying at the biltmore in Providence. If people flew into PVD or BOS, theyd be renting cars from them and gassing them up there before returning them. Flight crews would stay at their hotels. If the 2nd largest city wants to be a vibrant 2nd largest city, its needs nice things to attract people with wallets, instead of us locals taking our wallets a half hour away. AND it improves OUR quality of life. Think of it this way, Polar park, Doherty High, and wayfinding signs are using more tax dollars, but that will be offset by more residents and businesses settling here. And iits working. 2020 census population up 13%!!! And we, the current taxpayers get to reap the nicer things.

Bill asks: Where on this blog have we ever said we want only warehouses and parking lots or that we dont want good things in Worcester. You dont say that Bill, but you certainly imply it with your critical posts about polar park, wayfinding signs, pickett park, flight delays and cancelations. But here's the kicker. You never post alternatives to improve the city or alternative nice things. So people conclude that you're satisfied with warehouses and empty lots. Nice things may not have direct revenue generating capabilities, but they sure do contribute to the economy by attracting wallets. Geeez even a BC grad should have learned that in Business Admin 101. I wonder how the advertisers on the glass walls at the oval ice rink benefited from a money losing nice thing on the common.
Common Sense said…
I can't speak for everyone else, but I was not against bringing the team here. My problem was that the deal the City worked out with the owners what so lopsided in their favor that it was a great risk to taxpayers. I think Augustus and Petty were so desperate to get the deal done that they got totally played. A 50/50 split on the stadium bill would have been more palatable for me. Also, I would have demanded that they pay their full tax bill.
Anonymous said…
The only ones that were against the bill in my opinion were the ones that either knew the risk the city was facing if it fails, the ones that thought the money the city was spending should be used on something else, or the ones that said that it would have more downsides than upsides. Right now it’s too early to tell but it’s just a waiting game. They’ve delayed everything that was suppose to be built to be finished by 2024 but if everything isn’t done or hasn’t even started to be built by then, we will definitely see an answer whether or not this failed.

Also, tomorrow starts the new schedule for the Fort Lauderdale flight, it’ll leave in the afternoon around 4:15 and arrive to FLL around 7:30. There are 2 flights there tomorrow just because the aircraft coming in tonight for that flight obviously has to leave so that’s why they’ll be 2 flights. For the beginning of the month, the flight capacity is at 40% but that’s probably due to the beginning of June being a weird time for families (in Massachusetts) to go on vacation since school ends in 2 1/2 weeks so that’s probably is what to blame it on. I definitely expect it to hit 80%+ in a couple of weeks once summer officially begins.
Anonymous said…
I would think that the late departure time has something to do with the decreased load numbers. I never arrived for a first day of a vacation to FL at 8pm. By the time you get your rental and arrive at the hotel it's probably 10pm. Basically, a wasted day. You have to either eat dinner at 3pm or wait until you get to FLL at 7:30pm to eat airport food. This is set-up to fail!!
Anonymous said…
I have read this blog for almost two years and simply stated I think it has filled a void in asking questions or making observations no one else asks or has observed. I have also read the comments and although I may not agree with them I at least respect someone expressing their opinions,as long as they do not make things personal. I am having problems following some of the recent comments as it relates to what I have read on this blog but I will say that I do agree with someone, even a blogger, continually questioning our government whether it be federal,state of local. I will say I have learned more about polar park from this blog than I have from any other source.
Bill Randell said…
WHen we were posting how the flights were doing every day, we were actually saying how good they were doing and that were very few cancellations. The only real critical thing we posted was when the crew was not there when a flight came in late night from NYC--again.

In fact we have been very positive about the airport??? Although we do not like some of the recent time changes.

For the one millionth time, we think Polar Park is great experience and adds to the quality of life in the City of Worcester. We said, however, from Day One that there was no way in hell that this would tax neutral and that the taxpayers would be paying the tab and not the owners of the WooSox.

Trust we wish we were wrong. Sadly we are 100% correct to the tune of we would think $4,000,000 this year.
Anonymous said…
The comment about Business Administration 101 has been rolling around in my mind since I read it yesterday. I wish the commenter would elaborate further on the comment as it relates to the revenues generated by the City to pay for the loans on the ball park. I can see the wallets going to a game paying for parking, some in City lots some in private lots. Other than parking, in my mind the wallets are being emptied inside the ballpark which benefits the WooSox and not the City. By no means am I a Wall Street (New York not Grafton Hill) tycoon but it is that simple. Please let me know what I am missing.