BOSTON (CBS) — The Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate is officially moving to Worcester. Pawtucket, Rhode Island will no longer be home to Boston’s top minor league team, as the soon-to-be Worcester Red Sox are set to move into a newly constructed stadium in the city’s Canal District in Kelley Square in 2021. “We are eager to build an innovative, family-friendly ballpark that reflects the love and appreciation of baseball and that unifies Central Massachusetts and the Blackstone Valley Corridor,” PawSox Chairman Larry Lucchino said Friday. As you can see, the new stadium has a big wall in left field, similar to Fenway Park’s Green Monster. The multi-use ballpark, is part of a multi-million dollar redevelopment in the Canal District, which will also include new apartments, two hotels (one of which will overlook the ballpark), and 65,000 square feet of retail and restaurant spaces. The completion date is expected to be sometime in March 2021. Lucchino said it will be named “Polar Park” and sponsored by the Polar beverage company. It’s not yet known if the team’s official nickname will be the “WooSox” as many on social media have assumed, but Lucchino said it is indeed “one of the candidates.” The PawSox have called McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket their home since their inception in 1970, originally starting as Boston’s Double-A affiliate for their first two years of existence. There is a lot of history surrounding the PawSox, who have won four Governers’ Cups to claim the International League title. Their most recent championship came in 2014. Such Red Sox greats as Carlton Fisk, Jim Rice and Wade Boggs started their Hall of Fame careers in Pawtucket, and all three are in the team’s Hall of Fame as well as the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Other famous Boston prospects to spend time in Pawtucket include Roger Clemens, Mo Vaughn, Nomar Garciaparra, Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia. Pawtucket was also the site of the longest professional baseball game ever played, a 33-inning PawSox win over the Rochester Red Wins in 1981. Boggs and fellow Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. played in the record tilt, which started on April 18. Play was suspended at 4:07 a.m., and did not resume until June 23 when the Red Wings returned to Pawtucket. The PawSox won the game 3-2 in the bottom of the 33rd inning when Dave Koza drove in Marty Barrett with a bases-loaded single. Watch: One-On-One With Larry Lucchino Many Red Sox stars made brief appearances for the PawSox on rehab assignments, from Curt Schilling to David Ortiz to, most recently, Mookie Betts. Rhode Island officials made a strong push to keep the team in Rhode Island, and in June lawmakers passed a bill to forfeit up to $38 million in city and state taxes on a new stadium and its surrounding area. But they couldn’t seal the deal, and in a few years, Boston’s top minor league team will leave the Ocean State for central Mass.<doc-sep>Follow The Journal's Patrick Anderson, tweet by tweet, for the latest on the future of the PawSox WORCESTER, Mass. -- At a 2 p.m. news conference at City Hall, Worcester leaders and franchise officials announced that the Pawtucket Red Sox have signed a letter of intent to leave Rhode Island, their home for nearly 50 years, for a new stadium in Worcester. The Pawtucket Red Sox have been informing Rhode Island and Pawtucket officials today of their intention to begin negotiating with Worcester to move to a new ballpark there, multiple sources tell The Journal. The Journal broadcast the city's news conference live on Facebook.com/ProvidenceJournal Follow The Journal's Patrick Anderson, tweet by tweet, for the latest on the future of the PawSox: Tweets by PatrickAnderso_<doc-sep>WORCESTER — For the better part of the past year speculation has swirled throughout the city about the prospects of major league affiliated baseball returning here. That speculation has been fueled by efforts on the city's part to lure the Pawtucket Red Sox to Worcester. The city has been in negotiations with the Boston Red Sox top minor league team since last summer, but city officials have been very tight-lipped about the status of those talks throughout the process. All of which has left many people wondering what is going to happen. But it appears that question is about to be answered. An announcement about the Pawtucket Red Sox will be made by city officials at 2 p.m. Friday at City Hall. The city manager's office, at 10:45 a.m. Friday, confirmed a "major announcement" at 2 p.m. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito has announced she will be on hand for the announcement. But city officials remain quiet about the matter and are not confirming or denying that a PawSox-related announcement will be made. When asked about whether a press conference is going to be held Friday afternoon, based on the invitations some people had received, Mike Vigneux, the city's media relations specialist, said Thursday afternoon the city manager's office was not commenting on it. In the eyes of some, Friday's announcement could be one of the more important in Worcester in some time in terms of continuing the positive momentum and investment that has been taking place in the city. Whatever deal that has been negotiated to bring the PawSox to Worcester will be subject to City Council approval and include a public hearing process that will give residents and business owners an opportunity to weigh in. The Canal District reached out to the Pawtucket Red Sox three years ago and asked the team to consider Worcester when the club's lease expires. The city has been wooing the Boston Red Sox's top minor league team ever since. It was nearly one year ago to the day when the City Council overwhelmingly approved a resolution in support of local efforts to woo the PawSox to Worcester. By passing the resolution, Mayor Joseph M. Petty said back then, the council showed that it supports "in principle" those city efforts, including building a stadium to accommodate the team. It also called on City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. to do "all that is reasonably in his power" to facilitate bringing the team here. Mr. Augustus followed that up by hiring a pair of consultants as part of the city's negotiating team, economist Andrew Zimbalist of Smith College and Boston attorney Jeffrey Mullan, whose expertise was in urban planning and development Pawtucket Red Sox representatives and city officials have been negotiating since, but representatives from both sides have said very little publicly about those talks. The PawSox are said to be eyeing a 5-acre triangular parcel between Madison and Green streets as the best site for a possible ballpark. In July, Minor League Baseball applied for three trademarks on the word “WooSox.” PawSox Chairman Larry Lucchino was touring the Canal District last week and he said the team was still exploring options. The PawSox are also considering a proposal in Pawtucket, where the team has been playing since 1973. The Rhode Island House of Representatives passed a last-second stadium financing bill in June. The Pawtucket plan has been made public – an $83 million mini-Fenway Park that would be financed, in part, by high-yield bonds that would cause the team’s borrowing costs to rise. Mr. Lucchino has not commented on which direction he is leaning. ////////////////////////////<doc-sep>
Generations of Red Sox fans have flocked to Pawtucket, Rhode Island to see their team's future stars.However, it appears the future of the Sox top minor-league affiliate will be in Worcester. City officials said they are planning to make a "major announcement" at 2 p.m. Friday at City Hall. Thursday, The Worcester Telegram reported the city will make an announcement Friday afternoon regarding the future of the team, citing several sources who received invitations to the event.However, a spokesperson for the city of Worcester offered no comment on Thursday. Sox ownership has had trouble getting Rhode Island to invest in a new ballpark.The Telegram reported the PawSox are focusing on a five acre parcel of land between Madison and Green Streets as the best site for what's being described as a "new, super-modern facility. "In July, Minor League Baseball applied for three trademarks on the word "WooSox." Generations of Red Sox fans have flocked to Pawtucket, Rhode Island to see their team's future stars. However, it appears the future of the Sox top minor-league affiliate will be in Worcester. City officials said they are planning to make a "major announcement" at 2 p.m. Friday at City Hall. Thursday, The Worcester Telegram reported the city will make an announcement Friday afternoon regarding the future of the team, citing several sources who received invitations to the event. However, a spokesperson for the city of Worcester offered no comment on Thursday. Sox ownership has had trouble getting Rhode Island to invest in a new ballpark. The Telegram reported the PawSox are focusing on a five acre parcel of land between Madison and Green Streets as the best site for what's being described as a "new, super-modern facility." In July, Minor League Baseball applied for three trademarks on the word "WooSox."