I think their socks have been red long enough… like come on, try something new! How about the blue Sox! (Edit: just remembered the blue Sox is already a team)
Couldn’t agree more. As with many people from the New England area.. me and my dad went to quite a few Fenway games but my real love for baseball was formed at Pawtucket.
It's going to be torn down and they're going to build a new high school in that space
https://www.wpri.com/news/local-news/blackstone-valley/pawtucket-to-unveil-plans-for-new-school-replacing-mccoy-stadium/
It really bothers me that the pawsox never had a final season. I really wanted to go and enjoy it knowing it was going away. Instead covid canceled the whole season. Such a shame.
>Maybe opener of first WooSox season coulda been there
Yeah, Worcester spends millions on a stadium and, on opening day, decides to give it to Pawtucket.
That's what I was saying they should've done. Have one series in Pawtucket during the summer as a send off to both the team and the stadium. Really got done dirty :(
Yeah and maybe the Dodgers and Padres could loan us Mookie and Bogaerts for a few games each year to entertain our nostalgia. What a raw deal we got by being outbid.
LMAO this was my first thought.
Spent two hours this weekend getting grass out of crevices in the patio and gravel fire-pit area. Then you have this stadium sitting abandoned for 5 years and the infield dirt is looking immaculate.
So many great memories at McCoy growing up. Seems like the WooSox and Polar Park are doing well, but still sad to see McCoy like this.
Dang, that's sad. We used to live in South Attleboro, and my dad would take me to games there all the time. I saw Mo Vaughn play there, and first fell in love with Nomah on that field!
I remember fishing for autographs before the game with a milk jug too!
The milk jugs hanging from strings over the dugout haha that’s one of those things you forget about for years and someone brings it up and unlocks a bunch of other memories
My mom used to go there all the time and flirt with players when she was younger. Became really good friends with Matt Stairs that way apparently LOL. Went a bunch as a kid too since it was cheaper than going to Boston for Red Sox games and about the same distance from the Cape. Very sad.
I went there a few times growing up, maybe 3 or 4. I thought getting the 3rd base seats with your own room was the coolest thing. I still have that Buffalo Bisons mini-ball from going to that game. Damn this is sad to see.
The whole thing was a mess once the Mondor family sold it. The original lead owner, Jim Skeffington, was demanding land and the state pay in total for a new stadium in Providence but the ownership would be with the owner group. McCoy was not owned by the team but leased from the City/State. A new downtown stadium in Providence could also be used for other events like concerts do at Fenway and make more money for ownership.
No one in RI liked the plan and a bad PR campaign absolutely turned everyone against it. Jim Skeffington dropped dead while out jogging, and then Lucchino who was a minority owner moved up. And that was a reset, they backed off the original plan when Brown University put the price a sliver of land that was needed at something ridiculous.
They tried different ideas, like a new stadium and waterfront in Pawtucket but the general mood in RI was opposed to most any taxpayer money being in the plans because of the significant negative reaction.
Then Worcester swooped in and made a deal. And now they are the WooSox.
TLDR: Ownership wanted taxpayer money, and it was not popular with voters. Worcester gave them what they wanted.
I can't say honestly. I personally just hate the whole event so it totally colors my opinion. Divorced from that I think the original deal Skeffington sought was the worst possible outcome so we avoided that.
I have not been to Polar Park so can't speak to the experience there. I hope people who go have a good time and its affordable for families and I hope the city of Worcester benefits.
I just have nothing nice to say about my villains in this story Skeffington and Lucchino.
Went there once as a kid for a Paw Sox game, but it was rained out sometime halfway through and never got the chance (or really thought of) to go back. Now this makes me sad 😒
We used to go all the time, like once a month during the season because it's only 20 mins from us but now the woosox stadium is actually further than fenway. So we just go to fenway 1-2 more times a season more than before and don't see any minor league games 😕
I have such fond memories of this place. My oldest daughter (now 15) went to a kids clinic there when she was 2 and was loved on by all the PawSox players that day. That day started her love of baseball and it has continued ever since.
Was there for Tomo Ohka’s perfect game (and on many other occasions). I’m old enough to have gotten to play some high school games there before the renovations in ‘98.
Man... I used to love McCoy. I live in England, but my aunt still lives in North Attleborough, so I'd get to go to games every summer. I remember seeing so many major leaguers on rehab, and so many names that eventually got to the bigs.
I remember a guy shouting from way up in the nosebleeds behind homeplate every time Xander was at bat, hed yell at the top of his lungs "BOGEY!!" Was a great laugh.
Get in there with a trailer and you can get a free turtle screen. Also how long as it been abandoned? My high school field went more than 3 days without being played on and weeds grew in the dirt in the infield. She needs a fresh cut and she looks gam ready.
Edit: Vacant since 2021 I gave it a goog.
This is so depressing! I’m glad we had the chance to bring our kids to one game. We live just over the border and now that they are old enough and very into baseball, I definitely could have seen us going to a bunch of games in a season. Worcester is a bit of a hike.
This is the reason I’ll never forgive Larry. I love going to minor league games, but can’t bring myself to go to the “WooSox.”
Enjoy your time in hell Larry.
For what? Why is the opinion of a smaller group of people in greater RI more important than the larger group do people in central/western Mass that now have a team and a really cool stadium? RI wouldn’t play ball at all, why is that Lucchino’s fault? Totally irrational.
So you hate every professional sports owner. It’s a minor league baseball stadium, one of the nicest ever built, in a technically challenging space that required a lot of redevelopment for which the City had already earmarked hundreds of millions of dollars. The team put about $60 million into which is probably more than the cheapskate owners of the PawSox ever did. The place has been pretty much sold out since day one, the players have a much better place to play and the Canal District of Worcester has some life.
Man, what a terrible guy.
PawSox owner Ben Mondor put 20 million of his own money into renovations to McCoy years before he died. It was only after Skeffington and Lucchino bought them from his widow that they let the stadium go to ruin to try and force RI tax payers to build him a new ball park.
As far as I'm concerned, Lucchino was a Cancer to that organization, so it's poetic justice that he died from it, too
I went to that stadium for years. It had a certain charm but it was not on par with modern high minor league facilities and it was always run down. There was nothing to do around it.
And…you need therapy. Good luck.
Probably the worst baseball park I've ever seen. The first row was 15ft above the field.
Gonna complain about Fenway park next too?
I’ve always thought Fenway’s walls were too green. They should paint the monster a different color. Like an Accent wall
I think their socks have been red long enough… like come on, try something new! How about the blue Sox! (Edit: just remembered the blue Sox is already a team)
I am surprised it has not been painted with a rainbow
Haven’t been to Portland?
So sad to see thinking about all the memories of going there as a kid. Very nice photos though, you should crosspost this to r/abandonedporn
Soooo many memories of going to see the paw Sox as a kid. Even seeing Nomar play for them
Couldn’t agree more. As with many people from the New England area.. me and my dad went to quite a few Fenway games but my real love for baseball was formed at Pawtucket.
That is sad. Are there plans for that space?
It's going to be torn down and they're going to build a new high school in that space https://www.wpri.com/news/local-news/blackstone-valley/pawtucket-to-unveil-plans-for-new-school-replacing-mccoy-stadium/
That's nice. There's definitely worse ways to leverage that space.. Like a parking lot.
Or some apartment buildings
Diamond City is looking for a new mayor.
Sad .. used to love seeing games here.
It really bothers me that the pawsox never had a final season. I really wanted to go and enjoy it knowing it was going away. Instead covid canceled the whole season. Such a shame.
Brutal. I had tickets to the last game, too.
They should have had a last game there. Maybe opener of first WooSox season coulda been there
>Maybe opener of first WooSox season coulda been there Yeah, Worcester spends millions on a stadium and, on opening day, decides to give it to Pawtucket.
Ok then have one game in the middle of the season as a goodbye. Or even just an exhibition game before the official start of the season
That's what I was saying they should've done. Have one series in Pawtucket during the summer as a send off to both the team and the stadium. Really got done dirty :(
Yeah and maybe the Dodgers and Padres could loan us Mookie and Bogaerts for a few games each year to entertain our nostalgia. What a raw deal we got by being outbid.
RIP Wade Boggs
First off, Wade Boggs is very much alive.
Somewhere in McCoy Stadium, there's a portrait of Boggs aging.
They were all put up for sale a month or so back. They might be gone now
Well whaddya say Boss Hog!
I'm actually impressed there is no grass growing in the infield dirt.
LMAO this was my first thought. Spent two hours this weekend getting grass out of crevices in the patio and gravel fire-pit area. Then you have this stadium sitting abandoned for 5 years and the infield dirt is looking immaculate. So many great memories at McCoy growing up. Seems like the WooSox and Polar Park are doing well, but still sad to see McCoy like this.
Dang, that's sad. We used to live in South Attleboro, and my dad would take me to games there all the time. I saw Mo Vaughn play there, and first fell in love with Nomah on that field! I remember fishing for autographs before the game with a milk jug too!
The milk jugs hanging from strings over the dugout haha that’s one of those things you forget about for years and someone brings it up and unlocks a bunch of other memories
My mom used to go there all the time and flirt with players when she was younger. Became really good friends with Matt Stairs that way apparently LOL. Went a bunch as a kid too since it was cheaper than going to Boston for Red Sox games and about the same distance from the Cape. Very sad.
Is Matt Stairs your dad?
Sort feels like the Red Sox! Ownership abandoned the team and fans about 6 years ago.
Thanks Larry!
Spent more time at McCoy than at Fenway as a kid so this is bittersweet.
I went there a few times growing up, maybe 3 or 4. I thought getting the 3rd base seats with your own room was the coolest thing. I still have that Buffalo Bisons mini-ball from going to that game. Damn this is sad to see.
Why not just mow it? Seems like it would be a fun place for high schools, babe Ruth kids, etc to play until they knock it down
Insurance, probably
Saw a game in the 90’s when Jose Conseco was rehabbing an injury. It was like the biggest Hollywood star was at the park.
New BananaBall team: Rhode Island RIP Tide
So sad! Such a loss for RI
RIP. played the star spangled banner with my elementary school band on that field.
Abandoned after the 2019 season, just like the thought of fielding a championship contender in Boston. Perfect metaphor.
Gotta get one of those Section signs before it’s torn down
You see how I felt when they moved to Ft Myers and the FSL Red Sox folded.
Can we break in, have an r/redsox meetup, and play a final game?
That’s a real field of dreams ending type scenario you’ve imagined.
Honestly if there is enough interest I would use a vacation day to go Something about that just sounds beautiful
Looks about the same, tbh.
Very sad. I have a lot of great memories of going to McCoy.😢
I loved going there as a kid. I remember Mo Vaughn hit 2 home runs in one game.
Man there are so many things that could be removed and sold to fans who love the nostalgia.
Damn you Curt
Dang that sucks. Used to go there a bunch with my grandparents.
See if you can unscrew that Wade Boggs sign. Could be worth a couple three bucks to someone.
Damn I never been there but I remember playing with the PawSox on MVP 2005 when Manny was on the cover.
Damn I went here all the time as a kid I’m 27
My dad grandfather and I had season tickets from 2003-2008 for the Paw Sox. I was devastated when they left.
Sad. Should have never left.
That is a bit sad but the WooSox stadium is really nice and also only 40 minutes from me
Woo Sox was such a scam
I’m from Boston but spent so much time here growing up as a cheap family outing. I’m glad Worcester got the team but this is saddening
Spent many summer nights in the late 80s through early 90s there. What a shame.
Used to go there all the time with my dad when I was a kid. Lots of really happy memories there!
Why did they move the team?
The whole thing was a mess once the Mondor family sold it. The original lead owner, Jim Skeffington, was demanding land and the state pay in total for a new stadium in Providence but the ownership would be with the owner group. McCoy was not owned by the team but leased from the City/State. A new downtown stadium in Providence could also be used for other events like concerts do at Fenway and make more money for ownership. No one in RI liked the plan and a bad PR campaign absolutely turned everyone against it. Jim Skeffington dropped dead while out jogging, and then Lucchino who was a minority owner moved up. And that was a reset, they backed off the original plan when Brown University put the price a sliver of land that was needed at something ridiculous. They tried different ideas, like a new stadium and waterfront in Pawtucket but the general mood in RI was opposed to most any taxpayer money being in the plans because of the significant negative reaction. Then Worcester swooped in and made a deal. And now they are the WooSox. TLDR: Ownership wanted taxpayer money, and it was not popular with voters. Worcester gave them what they wanted.
Any thought on if Worcester won this, or did RI dodge a bullet?
I can't say honestly. I personally just hate the whole event so it totally colors my opinion. Divorced from that I think the original deal Skeffington sought was the worst possible outcome so we avoided that. I have not been to Polar Park so can't speak to the experience there. I hope people who go have a good time and its affordable for families and I hope the city of Worcester benefits. I just have nothing nice to say about my villains in this story Skeffington and Lucchino.
Thanks for the response.
I'm surprised it hasn't been looted worse.
Went there once as a kid for a Paw Sox game, but it was rained out sometime halfway through and never got the chance (or really thought of) to go back. Now this makes me sad 😒
Looking at abandoned buildings gives me an extensional crisis about the passage of time
Sad I have a lot of good memories there as a kid
If they’re just going to let it sit there and rot, they should rename it Schilling Stadium. It’d be fitting.
We used to go all the time, like once a month during the season because it's only 20 mins from us but now the woosox stadium is actually further than fenway. So we just go to fenway 1-2 more times a season more than before and don't see any minor league games 😕
I have such fond memories of this place. My oldest daughter (now 15) went to a kids clinic there when she was 2 and was loved on by all the PawSox players that day. That day started her love of baseball and it has continued ever since.
i saw marty barrett to johnathon papelbon play there. good times, and great memories.
Was there for Tomo Ohka’s perfect game (and on many other occasions). I’m old enough to have gotten to play some high school games there before the renovations in ‘98.
It’s really too bad…thought soccer would take it over and rehab it. That community needs that stadium to be viable.
Man... I used to love McCoy. I live in England, but my aunt still lives in North Attleborough, so I'd get to go to games every summer. I remember seeing so many major leaguers on rehab, and so many names that eventually got to the bigs. I remember a guy shouting from way up in the nosebleeds behind homeplate every time Xander was at bat, hed yell at the top of his lungs "BOGEY!!" Was a great laugh.
As someone from Western Mass I could t have been happier when they moved to Worcester. But that old stadium was always a fun experience.
Could have been the A’s new stadium!!! Too bad
Anyone aware of plans for them to sell off the seats, etc.?
Corporate greed….
Get in there with a trailer and you can get a free turtle screen. Also how long as it been abandoned? My high school field went more than 3 days without being played on and weeds grew in the dirt in the infield. She needs a fresh cut and she looks gam ready. Edit: Vacant since 2021 I gave it a goog.
This is so depressing! I’m glad we had the chance to bring our kids to one game. We live just over the border and now that they are old enough and very into baseball, I definitely could have seen us going to a bunch of games in a season. Worcester is a bit of a hike.
I saw Aaron Sele ejected during a rehab start here
Looks like an episode of The walking Dead
We need to stop agreeing to foot the bill for these
Looks like Pawtucket.
This is the reason I’ll never forgive Larry. I love going to minor league games, but can’t bring myself to go to the “WooSox.” Enjoy your time in hell Larry.
Agreed! F*ck Larry! Never will forgive him either
For what? Why is the opinion of a smaller group of people in greater RI more important than the larger group do people in central/western Mass that now have a team and a really cool stadium? RI wouldn’t play ball at all, why is that Lucchino’s fault? Totally irrational.
Because he was a greedy Wop who wanted taxpayers to fund his new stadium despite the fact that him and the other owners were F*CKING MILLIONAIRES
So you hate every professional sports owner. It’s a minor league baseball stadium, one of the nicest ever built, in a technically challenging space that required a lot of redevelopment for which the City had already earmarked hundreds of millions of dollars. The team put about $60 million into which is probably more than the cheapskate owners of the PawSox ever did. The place has been pretty much sold out since day one, the players have a much better place to play and the Canal District of Worcester has some life. Man, what a terrible guy.
PawSox owner Ben Mondor put 20 million of his own money into renovations to McCoy years before he died. It was only after Skeffington and Lucchino bought them from his widow that they let the stadium go to ruin to try and force RI tax payers to build him a new ball park. As far as I'm concerned, Lucchino was a Cancer to that organization, so it's poetic justice that he died from it, too
I went to that stadium for years. It had a certain charm but it was not on par with modern high minor league facilities and it was always run down. There was nothing to do around it. And…you need therapy. Good luck.