Ghost Stadium - McCoy Already Falls Into Disrepair

Ghost Stadium - McCoy Already Falls Into Disrepair

Memories of the Pawtucket Red Sox playing at McCoy Stadium might seem like just yesterday, but photos obtained by GoLocalProv.com show the facility now in various degrees of neglect and disrepair.

The Boston Red Sox AAA affiliate played its first full season this year in Massachusetts after moving to Worcester, and now the fate — and the upkeep — of McCoy are uncertain.

The Pawtucket park, once the gem of the league, is now looking like a ghost stadium complete with the abandoned statue of the beloved late-owner Ben Mondor. He died in 2010. His widow sold the team in 2015 to a group of ultra-wealthy businessmen.

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The City of Pawtucket in January sued the then-Pawtucket/Worcester Red Sox franchise, claiming the organization failed to “perform required maintenance, repair and other obligations in connection with the team’s lease and use of City-owned McCoy Stadium” which officially ended on January 31.

 

SEE PHOTOS BELOW

Now, the city — which is responsible for the stadium’s upkeep — is reportedly paying $6,500 a month to an outside management firm to maintain the property and its “curb appeal,” 

The photos of McCoy however show overgrown weeds, crumbling infrastructure, and an 80-year-old stadium in advanced stages of decline.

The weeds in the outfield area under the scoreboard are more than 8 feet tall. Trees and shrubs are not maintained.

The beloved statue area is overgrown and covered in weeds in many areas.

In 2011, the blogger Soxy Lady - Diary of a Boston Sports Fan wrote about the pristine park. "As part of this addition, they created a nice little garden area with some pretty cool statues! I do have to say that I love they included a little girl in this group of statues! Girls love baseball too!! I also love how one group of kids is just playing for fun, and the other is clearly playing more competitively. They are fun and full of whimsy. Someday, that'll be TSI!!"

She added, "So, if you are a baseball lover and you live in the Rhode Island area - or even if you don't live in the Rhode Island area! - you must head on over to McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket to check out a game."

Today, those statues are covered in overgrowth and weeds.

 

Latest in McCoy Saga

The fate of the Pawtucket Red Sox was sealed by the new ownership group, who in 2015 tried unsuccessfully to move the team to Providence after public outcry regarding the taxpayers’ obligation to a collective group of businessmen worth billions — and then later when they tried and failed to cut a deal to remain in Pawtucket.

"They left so much equipment and pictures, murals, the tables...it's like they didn't want Worcester to know Pawtucket ever existed," said the photographer who documented what was left behind by the now Worcester Red Sox organization, of the PawSox era at McCoy. 

Public investment into minor league stadiums has generated little business benefit for the host cities and initial attendance boosts historically then flatten.

In 2017, GoLocal reported, “Despite Nearly $300M in Stadium Investments, PawSox’s League Sees Falling Attendance Past 10 Years:”

"Over the past ten years, six of the 14 teams in the International League have rehabbed or built new stadiums. The Pawtucket Red Sox play in the International League. The cost of the construction totals more than $275.3 million in rehab and construction costs since 2008. Despite the massive investment during this decade, one thing has not increased in the International League — attendance."

By 2018, the PawSox ownership decided to take their ball(club) and go up to Worcester.

The fate of McCoy then hung in the balance.

In April 2019, the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation along with the City of Pawtucket received six proposals responding to the RFP for the reuse of McCoy Stadium and Pawtucket Downtown Development.

The team now plays in Worcester's Polar Park.  The cost of that stadium is now over $160 million. 

Currently, the proposal put forth by Fortuitous Partners — for a minor league soccer stadium at the new Tidewater Landing developments — is moving forward.

McCoy — and its future — remains in the weeds.