Just read in the WBJ that attendence at Polar Park is up 24% over last year. The Woosox now have the second best attendence numbers in the league. More profits for a team that doesn't pay any taxes.
Anonymous said…
Pickett Park "resembles" the video without the retail space for the underrepresented and disadvantaged. The hole for the office building kind of looks like an office building if you use your imagination. The brick building to the left looks correct. The ball park looks great, except for the blue steel, a tribute to Higgins Armory (wink wink) but where are the trees? The development the cars parked at the hotel(s) and the people from the residential units are reeking havoc with the Kelley Sq Peanut. When 9 out of 10 economists questioned the project, the one who didn't being the economist hired by the City to develop a financial model, it should have sent red flags. The City either did a Bait & Switch, was overly optimistic or was over their head with the project. None of these explanations bode well for us taxpayers. As to the previous comment, the more time passes with no development and "parking wars" that have arisen with ball park attendance ticking up, it appears my taxes are paying for a ball park that is going to return a hefty profit for millionaire/billionaire owners from Rhode Island and Boston. This is not what was presented to us.
Anonymous said…
I am waiting to hear the announcement that the WooSox need to hire more part time employees to count all the money they are making.
Common Sense said…
With all the new apartments that are being built and planned in and around the Canal District their numbers are only going to go up. We were so fortunate to have a city manager that looked out for the City's taxpayers. He'll probably parlay his so called accomplishments in Worcester into a seven figure corporate job.
Anonymous said…
The WooSox had to know the Worcester market, Worcester and the surrounding towns would be profitable. Not only the large population but a wealth level that can afford to attend a game. They are .marketing all the way to Springfield. I bet they are more profitable than even they imagined.
Posters on this board would be happier if attendance was down and there was little to no interest in the team. The city now has a summer attraction which it never had. And no matter what you people think this project will pay dividends for the city for decades.
Anonymous said…
I don't think the commenters are negative towards the attendance, I think they are just highlighting how bad the City did in protecting the taxpayers. Yes the City has a summer attraction, in the City, that it did not previously have but anyone could drive a 1/2 hour south and see a PawSox game. So the question should be is having this summer attraction worth $175 million, or for the payments on the loans which could have been spent on things like schools, school safety issues, repairing roads etc. Back to driving a 1/2 hour. It would be interesting to know where the attendance at games come from. The park holds 10,000. The WooSox market to the residents of the City but also the surrounding Towns. They even have a game night for Springfield. If Worcester population is 200,000 and the population of the surrounding Towns is another 200,000 there are 400,000 potential attendees within a 1/2 drive. I would bet that more fans are coming from the Towns than from the City so how is this a benefit to the residents? I am not a baseball fan and have not gone to a game but I bet the cost on my tax bill is equal to four tickets to a game. The other item that bothers me is the fact that this business is not paying taxes like everyone else. This is Memorial Day and I am now back to thinking of the Veterans who gave me the right to express my opinion.
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.
Anonymous said…
The airport is not a good comparison because the City got out of the airport business and sold the airport to Massport because it was costing the City millions of dollars like the ballpark appears to be. As the second largest City we probably need more 5 star hotels that does not mean the City should build hotels. Paying $175 for another summer entertainment option was not a good investment of public funds.
Comments
Back to driving a 1/2 hour. It would be interesting to know where the attendance at games come from. The park holds 10,000. The WooSox market to the residents of the City but also the surrounding Towns. They even have a game night for Springfield. If Worcester population is 200,000 and the population of the surrounding Towns is another 200,000 there are 400,000 potential attendees within a 1/2 drive. I would bet that more fans are coming from the Towns than from the City so how is this a benefit to the residents?
I am not a baseball fan and have not gone to a game but I bet the cost on my tax bill is equal to four tickets to a game.
The other item that bothers me is the fact that this business is not paying taxes like everyone else.
This is Memorial Day and I am now back to thinking of the Veterans who gave me the right to express my opinion.