It's Official: Pawtucket Red Sox Move To Worcester

WORCESTER, MA—Baseball fans in Worcester won't have to drive to Rhode Island to check out the prospects for the Boston Red Sox. The Pawtucket Red Sox are officially announcing that they are relocating to Worcester's canal district, say several media outlets.

In an official statement Friday afternoon, the city announced that along with the Pawtucket Red Sox and Triple-A Baseball Organization, it had signed a letter of intent to build a modern multi-use baseball park as part of a multi-million dollar redevelopment of the former Wyman Gordon site in the canal district. The park is part of a complete redesign of Kelley Square.

The project is anticipated to be completed by March of 2021, and the project would consist of approximately 18 acres of development with 250 market rate apartments, a 150-room hotel, a second boutique hotel and restaurants. It also includes improvements to streets, sidewalks and parking lots.

Before the official statement, reporter Dan Jaehnig from NBC-10 reported on Twitter shortly before 12:30 p.m. that a source confirmed to him that the PawSox are moving forward and building a new stadium in Worcester. Red Sox chairman Tom Werner confirmed to WCVB-TV News that the PawSox are indeed moving to Worcester.

"We love the PawSox in Rhode Island, but I understand that Larry (Lucchino) felt that this was a good thing for his franchise, the Triple-A franchise, to move it to Worcester," Werner told WCVB-News, which also said that it is expected that the team will be renamed the WooSox.

This relocation plan needs approval from the City Council and requires a public hearing to push the plan, which would move the PawSox from the home it has been in since 1973. Holy Cross sports economist Victor Matheson told WBUR that the city manager and other Worcester negotiators clearly must have offered the team something much more generous to lure them away from Pawtucket. The plan reportedly states that the PawSox put $45 million into a new stadium, buoyed by $38 million from the taxpayers.

On July 26, an attorney with Minor League baseball registered three trademarks for the term "WooSox," reports MassLive. The attorney and executives from the team had reportedly been spotted around Worcester, meeting at such establishments as Birch Tree Bread.

Social media erupted with the news, largely sparking fans from Rhode Island dismayed at the move.

This story will be updated.

Photo via Shutterstock