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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.