By Sam Wroblewski WPRO News
Larry Lucchino toured a potential alternate site for the proposed stadium to house a relocated Pawtucket Red Sox Wednesday as negotiations over public investment continue with the state. However, the PawSox ownership says they are still committed to the I-195 land.
PawSox spokesperson Patti Doyle tells WPRO Lucchino looked over the former Victory Plating land, an eight-acre parcel near Davol Square. She said while the Red Sox president and fellow owners are still laser focused on sealing the deal on a plot of the former I-195 land, the visit to Victory Plating was an act of due diligence.
“We are not considering another location for the urban ballpark, we are very much focused on the original parcel of land within the I-195 district,” said Doyle.
Lucchino and his fellow PawSox owners are in the midst of negotiating a new deal with the state to secure public funding for the stadium project. The original proposal spearheaded by late-PawSox President Jim Skeffington was rejected by Governor Gina Raimondo, who described it as a bad deal for taxpayers.
Doyle said the public may find out about the new, reworked deal in the near future.
“I think we’re weeks away rather than months, we’re anxious for the public to have a look at the renegotiated agreement.”
Whether or not the new agreement will be voted on in 2015 is another matter. House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello told the Providence Journal last week that it was unlikely the stadium would be introduced to legislators before January.
State officials point to an ongoing negotiation between Brown University and the PawSox ownership over a parcel of property as a hurdle which needs to be overcome before an agreement can be brought to the General Assembly.
