President and CEO of Minor League Baseball Pat O’Conner speaks with elected officials and members of various organizations about the possibility of a new baseball stadium in Providence. Photo by Andrew Augustus, WPRO News.
Andrew Augustus, WPRO News
One day after Larry Lucchino sent a letter to the Governor and General Assembly, the President of Minor League Baseball talked with elected officials and business leaders about the need for a stadium in Providence.
“There is a shelf life for physical plants and assets and it’s not that McCoy is all that bad, but McCoy is limited in its ability to deal with the future,” said Pat O’Conner, President and CEO of Minor League Baseball.
O’Conner spoke to the crowd of around 30 for nearly an hour explaining the benefits of a new park and what it would mean for the minor league team.
“To find a piece of land that seems to be available, that seems to have marginal problems with meditations whatever they may be, is extremely unique, especially in the northeast corridor,” said O’Conner.
After his presentation, O’Conner took questions from the audience. He was asked if it was common it was for a stadium to have a public/private partnership. “The overwhelming majority (of stadiums) are a public/private partnership,” said O’Conner. He added for many of those parks 75% of the stadium was funded with public money.
O’Conner talked about times where he visited Pawtucket when the team hosted the AAA All Star Game and talked about his time at McCoy. He felt it was important to the team and the league that the organization stays in the state.
