Polar Park, in Worcester. The local company Polar Beverages bought the naming rights.
Adapted from Robert Whitcomb’s “Digital Diary,’’ in GoLocal24.com
I suppose we can mostly blame the pandemic, but revenue hasn’t looked all that rosy at the Worcester Red Sox’s new Polar Park, which, as with most such stadium projects, has received many millions in public dollars that benefit the investment group that owns the team. But then, even in pandemic-free times, rarely do such facilities pay off for the taxpayers, although pro sports fans and grandiose promises of local economic gains often overcome strenuous community opposition to these projects.
Study after study by economists finds that these are crummy investments in terms of taxpayer dollars.
A campaign by the same group for a new, taxpayer-subsidized stadium in Pawtucket as a home for the now deceased PawSox failed, and considering what’s happening in Worcester, there may be many fresh sighs of relief in Rhode Island. That’s not to say that there are not psychic benefits from having a local baseball team. (We enjoyed taking guests from out of town, especially foreigners, to PawSox games.)
But wait! The WooSox owners may well sell the team sooner than you might think, and at a big profit. Call this welfare for the rich, or just the American Way!
