Worcester Woo Sox? (Boston, Merrimac: 2013, bill, train station)

[mp775]

Polar bears, guaranteed. It's already Polar Park, they don't have to change the mascots, and they can keep the 'Osos Polares' nights to pander to Latino fans, all while plugging their biggest corporate sponsor.

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by lrfox

I feel like the odds on favorite will be "The Worcester Worms." Worcester is "Wormtown," It's alliterative (which is a plus for minor league team naming), and goofy mascots are a minor league staple (See: Isotopes, Blue Wahoos, Yard Goats, Jumbo Shrimp, Mud Hens, Baby Cakes, Flying Squirrels, Chihuahuas, Rumble Ponies, Muckdogs, Lugnuts, Shuckers, Tincaps, Trash Pandas, Biscuits, etc.).

I wouldn't hate the Worms. I'd also be in favor of something else quirky and local. A few thoughts:

• Antiquarians (named after Worcester's American Antiquarian Society)
• Railroaders (because of the Boston-Worcester Railroad
• Candlepins (because Candlepin Bowling was invented there)
• Monkey Wrenches (Also invented there)
• Valentine's (Valentine's Day cards became a thing in Worcester)
• Ruby Legs (throwback to Worcester's MLB team)
• Hillfolk (because... hills)

Originally Posted by mp775

Polar bears, guaranteed. It's already Polar Park, they don't have to change the mascots, and they can keep the 'Osos Polares' nights to pander to Latino fans, all while plugging their biggest corporate sponsor.

I'm really confused now. I've been under the impression that they would be the Worcester Red Sox, and they were looking for a shorter nickname (e.g. Pawtucket Red Sox = PawSox).

I just read the article again and I think you guys interpreted it correctly.

[KEVIN_224]

The railroad name won't work, since you already have the Railers ECHL hockey team at the DCU Center.

[The_General]

Originally Posted by lrfox

I feel like the odds on favorite will be "The Worcester Worms." Worcester is "Wormtown," It's alliterative (which is a plus for minor league team naming), and goofy mascots are a minor league staple (See: Isotopes, Blue Wahoos, Yard Goats, Jumbo Shrimp, Mud Hens, Baby Cakes, Flying Squirrels, Chihuahuas, Rumble Ponies, Muckdogs, Lugnuts, Shuckers, Tincaps, Trash Pandas, Biscuits, etc.).

I wouldn't hate the Worms. I'd also be in favor of something else quirky and local. A few thoughts:

• Antiquarians (named after Worcester's American Antiquarian Society)
• Railroaders (because of the Boston-Worcester Railroad
• Candlepins (because Candlepin Bowling was invented there)
• Monkey Wrenches (Also invented there)
• Valentine's (Valentine's Day cards became a thing in Worcester)
• Ruby Legs (throwback to Worcester's MLB team)
• Hillfolk (because... hills)

Hillfolk sounds badass. But that's just probably cause of Game of Thrones, when Tyrion went to the Eyrie

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by The_General

Hillfolk sounds badass. But that's just probably cause of Game of Thrones, when Tyrion went to the Eyrie

I agree and I'm not a fan of Game of Thrones.

[MMS02760]

Worcester somehow has 100M for the Pawsox AAA Stadium while at the same time a City Council subcommittee is looking into the feasibility of creating a new 1 percent local sales tax (on top of the state's 6.25% rate)?

Worcester committee eyes 1 percent local sales tax
https://www.telegram.com/news/201811...ocal-sales-tax

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by MMS02760

Worcester somehow has 100M for the Pawsox AAA Stadium while at the same time a City Council subcommittee is looking into the feasibility of creating a new 1 percent local sales tax (on top of the state's 6.25% rate)?

Worcester committee eyes 1 percent local sales tax
https://www.telegram.com/news/201811...ocal-sales-tax

Must be just a coincidence.

[MMS02760]

Worcester taxpayers should be concerned:

The new tax break: Public spending for stadiums
The new tax break: Public spending for stadiums | WBJournal.com

"It has gone about exactly as every economist has predicted it would go," Bradbury said. "I hope the experience Gwinnett has had isn't repeated in Worcester."

[keep in mind that only one economist of ten previously polled by the WBJ thought the Worcester stadium deal was good for the city. The lone exception was a paid consultant for the project.
Link: www.wbjournal.com/article/20180821/NEWS01/180829995/1002 ]

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by MMS02760

Worcester taxpayers should be concerned:

The new tax break: Public spending for stadiums
The new tax break: Public spending for stadiums | WBJournal.com

"It has gone about exactly as every economist has predicted it would go," Bradbury said. "I hope the experience Gwinnett has had isn't repeated in Worcester."

[keep in mind that only one economist of ten previously polled by the WBJ thought the Worcester stadium deal was good for the city. The lone exception was a paid consultant for the project.
Link: www.wbjournal.com/article/20180821/NEWS01/180829995/1002 ]

I'm not a big proponent of the public investment Worcester is making. That being said, I think the notion that publicly funded ballparks are doomed to fail is B.S. Bad planning and foresight makes stadiums fail. Period.

In each of the examples listed as failures, it's not hard to see what went wrong (hint: it wasn't public money). In the positive examples, it's easy to see that the stadiums were the beneficiary of pre-existing positive energy, not the other way around. Some examples:

Manchester fails because it's isolated from downtown and the rest of the city by a river, a dead-end industrial park style road, a railyard, and a big suburban industrial park style neighborhood. It's not the type of place where anyone is going to want to linger afterwards, nor are they going to walk from downtown to the stadium. It's only a mile, but it might as well be 100 to someone on foot. Worcester has a great, active neighborhood center a few hundred feet away (and easily accessible on urban streets already). Downtown is also closer and much better connected.

Gwinnett is an awful comparison. It's in the middle of residential suburban hell. Picture a stadium on Route 9 in Westborough. That's what Gwinnett has. Urban development and suburban development are different. Expecting to replicate urban development (where people are OK compromising on space in order to be closer to amenities like transit, restaurants, shopping, bars, entertainment, etc.) around a suburban stadium (where people want more space, less traffic, less noise, etc.) is just plain dumb.

The Lehigh Valley example made me laugh a little because what they have there is essentially what you'd end up with if you built a new stadium where McCoy is today. A stadium in an industrial area on the periphery of a dense residential neighborhood. It sort of lends itself to the case for a new stadium in Pawtucket.

Charlotte and Nashville have been boom towns for some time now. While stadiums in their downtown areas are great feathers in the cap, they're not primary catalysts for development. Worcester, to me, falls into this bucket on a small scale. It's already experiencing positive growth and development (unlike Manchester and Hartford which are on pretty hard times). Especially within proximity of downtown and the station. Development WILL occur near the stadium, but it's much more likely a function of the positive momentum in the area already, not the stadium itself.

[MMS02760]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Manchester fails because it's isolated from downtown and the rest of the city by a river, a dead-end industrial park style road, a railyard, and a big suburban industrial park style neighborhood. It's not the type of place where anyone is going to want to linger afterwards, nor are they going to walk from downtown to the stadium. It's only a mile, but it might as well be 100 to someone on foot. Worcester has a great, active neighborhood center a few hundred feet away (and easily accessible on urban streets already). Downtown is also closer and much better connected.

The Manchester baseball park may be a bit isolated but it is not separated from downtown by a river. It is on the eastern side of the Merrimack just like the rest of the downtown. The park is also just a 1/2 mile walk from the downtown SNHU Arena. The Worcester stadium site will be basically the same distance from the downtown city center by Worcester Common (with an elevated rail line in between).