WPRO News
Governor Gina Raimondo says negotiations with the ownership of the Pawtucket Red Sox over a parcel of I-195 land remain ongoing despite the recent news that Brown University will wants fair market value for their portion of the land.
Some speculated the PawSox deal may have come to a halt after the Associated Press reported the University offered $15 million for its two-acre portion of the parcel; the remainder of the land belongs to the state.
However, the governor says this new stumbling block is does not signal the end for the PawSox deal.
“As I’ve said all along, it’s a complex deal, you have to get it right for the taxpayers, we’re working through it but there are definite obstacles and we can’t rush through them,” said Raimondo.
Raimondo said that even if negotiations for the land fall through, there are other sites in Rhode Island the team could build on.
“There’s always McCoy [Stadium], that’s always there and I’m sure there could be an option for that, so we just have to keep working it through and see if there’s a deal to be had that is good for Rhode Island.”
Recently, PawSox co-owner Larry Lucchino took a courtesy tour of the former Victory Plating land that in the past was offered as a secondary site if the I-195 deal fell through.
Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza says the city has also been actively engaged with the PawSox owners over the location of the proposed stadium. The mayor said he is interested in helping the team come to a solution that is beneficial to the city, but he is ultimately looking out for the taxpayers.
“If the number just don’t work for the city or just don’t work for baseball and they walk away, then they walk away,” said Elorza.
“The future of this city and the future of our economy does not depend on this stadium and so that’s how I’m approaching negotiations.”
