By Kim Kalunian, with reporting by Steve Klamkin, WPRO News
House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello’s flub is causing a war of words between him and the Rhode Island Republican Party.
The Speaker told WPRO news on Tuesday that the original proposal from the new ownership group of the Pawtucket Red Sox was a good one: “I still think the original proposal was a good business model. It was going to generate positive cash flow for the state of Rhode Island and the PawSox. Whenever you can do that, it’s a win.”
But Mattiello issued a statement on Wednesday clarifying his remarks:
“I clearly misspoke when talking with WPRO yesterday regarding the Providence stadium. I did not mean to say that the original proposal was a good one, because it was not. What I meant to say was the proposal at the original site, with the terms that we were re-working, was a good one. I have consistently stated for months that the original proposal was not in the taxpayers’ best interests and that’s why I was working so hard to make it a much more favorable deal.”
But the Rhode Island Republican Party isn’t convinced. In a statement released Thursday, RIGOP said “the Speaker is not fooling anyone;” they say Mattiello “wants taxpayers to fund the construction of a new baseball stadium, but is afraid to admit it.”
“I know the Speaker is having some trouble saying what he really thinks, but I don’t,” said RIGOP chairman Brandon Bell in a statement. “The taxpayers of Rhode Island do not want to pay, in any way, for the building of a new stadium. Mr. Speaker, give up on building a field of dreams with taxpayer money.”
Mattiello isn’t taking the Republicans’ remarks lying down. In a statement, he says the Republicans are just trying to make waves, pointing to numerous occasions where he’s said he didn’t like the team’s initial offer.
“Clearly the Republican Party is more interested in making false statements and political accusations than providing the public with honest, factual dialogue,” said Mattiello in a statement issued Thursday. “I have consistently stated from the start that the original proposal was unacceptable. That’s why I hired an expert consultant and spent several months working on a much better deal that was in the taxpayers’ best interests. This embarrassing political dialogue has to stop. If the Republican Party can’t be honest with the public, they are at risk of being irrelevant.”
Mattiello’s initial comments to WPRO came after the team’s ownership group announced over the weekend that they were abandoning their pursuit of the former I-195 land. Their original proposal would have required taxpayers to contribute $120 million dollars over the 30 years of the team’s lease of the Providence land.
Mattiello told WPRO Tuesday that he would prefer if the project was privately funded, but doesn’t see that as a realistic possibility.
“Ballparks are always public-private,” said Mattiello. “The public receives a tremendous benefit from them and they’re not profitable on their own.”
After the team’s initial proposal was hotly contested and ultimately shot down, the owners of the team said they were going back to the drawing board, but instead of presenting a new proposal, they announced they’d be looking at alternatives to the I-195 site.
Now the site on the Providence waterfront is destined to become a public green space, something Mattiello expressed dissatisfaction with.
“Once that park is built it’s going to cost at least a half million dollars a year to maintain,” he said. “What could have been a money generator is now going to become a burden on the taxpayers.”
Now, the PawSox owners are continuing their search for land, and news has surfaced that city officials in Worcester are interested in hearing the team’s pitch.
State leaders in Rhode Island have said they are committed to trying to keep the team within the state’s borders. Mattiello said he won’t actively solicit the team’s owners for a new proposal but will wait for them to approach him.
“I’m not in the ballpark business,” he said.
This story has been updated.
