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Major League Baseball In Providence


09/21/38

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Could a major league team move to Providence? That is a question that I have wondered about for some time. My proposal would be for a National League Team, say the Marlins who have not drawn well in Miami. Would they do better in Providence in a new stadium on the waterfront on Allens Ave.

The idea would be with RI's increasing Spanish population and with the seasonal increase of tourists (Cape Cod, Newport, South County) would there be enough demand to support a team?

I know this is Red Sox nation but Fenway Park is a hard place to get to from the south and the smallest stadium in the majors. And the most expensive. And are sold out.

The Pawsox have shown that minor league baseball in this area can thrive also with the smallest and oldest facility in the International leaque. How many people would go to a new stadium on the bay, on the new trolley line to downtown, with ferry service to Newport and along the extended boardwalk south of the Hurricane barrier?

How many people travelled to Green airport last year? Where did they all come from? Within an hours drive of Providence, in the summer, how many people live here or visit here.

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i don't think we have the population to support major league baseball here. the red sox have too much of a pull, and we're not that far from new york either.

if we were to put a stadium down there, public transit would need to be superbly enhanced to accommodate all the fans. the way it is now, the highways would be backed up for hours if a game were to sell out. it's hell driving by foxboro on a game day and there isn't a whole lot else around there.

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There's some chatter about this topic elsewhere on the forum. And MLB was supposedly talking about the fact that Boston could and should support a second team not too long ago. Providence would certainly be a logical home for such a team.

Knowing next to nothing about sports, I wonder if it is possible to build a dual purpose soccer/baseball stadium or if that is just silly.

i don't think we have the population to support major league baseball here. the red sox have too much of a pull, and we're not that far from new york either.
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Providence could absolutely support a national league team, and i have long lamented the lack of an NL team for new england. Red Sox fans (like many crazy fanatics) are fans of Baseball and would see games anywhere if given the opportunity. I would only hope that the ownership of the Sox wouldn't pull Peter Angelos and freeze out the other team. And i wouldn't want a NL team to impact the Pawsox, which is a great, cheap family baseball stadium.

this is a state that has three whole foods within 10 miles, two within three miles. I think the entire region can handle two major league baseball stadiums

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i don't think we have the population to support major league baseball here. the red sox have too much of a pull, and we're not that far from new york either.

if we were to put a stadium down there, public transit would need to be superbly enhanced to accommodate all the fans. the way it is now, the highways would be backed up for hours if a game were to sell out. it's hell driving by foxboro on a game day and there isn't a whole lot else around there.

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Well, LA, SF, and Chicago (and you could count Baltimore/Washington as well) each have two baseball teams and there was talk by the MLB that Boston should also pick up a second team. One could argue that out of those cities, Boston (by Boston I mean Greater Boston, Eastern New England) has the most ravenous baseball fans, of course if the Sox start to suck again, that could change. I think when the Expos(?) were moving there was a serious proposal to bring them to southern Connecticut, which really would have been more of a New York market, but would have picked up the western fringe of the Providence/Boston market.

Yes, each of those cities is slightly larger than Boston, but not much really.

Plus, how many Yankees fans in RI/Eastern Connecticut are there that don't even care about the Red Sox and never go to games?

I think with ticket prices and the size of Fenway, there are a lot of people in the region who are not able to go to Red Sox games that would be eager for a second team.

Now, reality for a minute, any team coming to RI would be looking for money from the state, and our state has no money.

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We don't have any money but we do have hotel rooms. And more all the time. Other cities who have proposed new stadiums have put a tax on hotel rooms to finance this kind of project. Sounds good to me. Or put a toll on the new IWAY.

We could be what Anaheim is to LA.

We are already connected by train and highway. Think of all the celebrities who would come as well. The movie stars in town filming. The rich and famous on the islands and in Hyannis. It could be huge. We could sell Del's Lemondade and Rocky Point Chowder and clamcakes. And Awful, awfuls from NC.

People will come just for the food and view. And Buddy could be the official greeter!

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There was talk when the Expos were on the move that they could possibly work in Hartford, and I would agree for many of the reasons that you all give for it working in Providence. Providence might be too close to Boston, while Hartford is pretty much equidistance between NYC and Boston, and I'm obviously biased, but I could see it working in Providence as well.

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The Krafts seriously thought about bringing MLB to Foxoboro in the years leading up to Gilette being built.

But here is the problem. The state/city would almost certainly have to foot the bill on a baseball stadium in order to get Bud's attention. And while it would be awesome to have baseball around, I'm pretty sure the facts are strongly against the economic reward being worth the price of the stadium, especially for a place like Providence that doesn't "need" to create an entertainment district or some such.

What I do wonder is whether there would be a way to build a multi-use for baseball and soccer and move the Revs down here as well. I wonder how much Kraft would put in if you could sell him on that plan.

Of course, even when you got through all of those roadblacks, you can bet your bippy that the Red Sox would do whatever they could to keep another team out of their market. The PawSox probably wouldn't be too happy, either. Looking at market data suggests that Boston could support two teams and New York at least three, however MLB is reluctant to take away any share from its cash cows, and that will continue.

Also, they would have to be the Providence Grays, for history's sake.

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Providence could absolutely support a national league team, and i have long lamented the lack of an NL team for new england. Red Sox fans (like many crazy fanatics) are fans of Baseball and would see games anywhere if given the opportunity. I would only hope that the ownership of the Sox wouldn't pull Peter Angelos and freeze out the other team. And i wouldn't want a NL team to impact the Pawsox, which is a great, cheap family baseball stadium.

this is a state that has three whole foods within 10 miles, two within three miles. I think the entire region can handle two major league baseball stadiums

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It's nice to think about money not being an issue but that is a fantasy of Disney proportions when dealing with MLB.

I am a huge baseball fan and I have been following the economics of baseball for the better part of 20 years. Jesus I'm old. Anyway, the point is that new cities don't get new teams without building sparkly new stadiums. And even then they might have to wait a while (hello Tampa). The only exception is the aforementioned Marlins, who aren't exactly the model franchise. Also, Providence does not have a multi-use venue like Dolphin Stadium (or RFK for the Nationals before building their own park) so a stadium would need to be built ahead of the pursuit of the team.

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A National League team called "New England Grays" in PVD.. For sure... There are plenty of people fed up with "Red Sox Nation" who are dying for a local reason to defect.. Or just a cheaper ticket.. Or to see national league games.. 100% would work.. But why PVD over other NE cities?

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A National League team called "New England Grays" in PVD.. For sure... There are plenty of people fed up with "Red Sox Nation" who are dying for a local reason to defect.. Or just a cheaper ticket.. Or to see national league games.. 100% would work.. But why PVD over other NE cities?
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that's really what i'm questioning. in my opinion, hartford would be a better choice given that it's not quite as close to boston, but still easy to get to (unless you're a true rhode islander, and then anything more than 20 min is not easy to get to).
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The name of the new team will be the Providence Waterfires. There will be a gondolla shuttle from Waterplace right to the stadium. The Krafts and Indians can be co-owners. The idea of the Revolution also moving there is possible accept that the two teams would compete against each other for dates and fans.

Having the stadium closer to downtown is possible but Mayor Sizzilene may not like that idea. We will plant many trees along the new trolley line on Allens Ave. Many local companies will be invited to help with construction and supply.

Carpionatto for surface parking.

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