Worcester Approves About $30M More For New Woo Sox Ballpark

WORCESTER (AP) — The Worcester City Council has approved a revised financing plan to address about $30 million in increased costs for a new baseball stadium being built in the city for the Boston Red Sox Triple-A affiliate.

The plan approved Tuesday addresses an additional $9.4 million in construction costs and about $20 million in increased costs associated with the redevelopment of the neighborhood where the park will be located.

The team, currently based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and known as the Pawtucket Red Sox, will play one more season in Rhode Island before relocating to Worcester in 2021.

Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus said even with the planned opening of the park 13 months away, he is confident the new financial plan meets the city's requirements for the ballpark.

A previous artist rendering of Polar Park in Worcester (Image credit City of Worcester)

"We feel like this additional funding has taken care of our obligations," Augustus said. "We're making our contribution to the ballpark, but anything beyond that, that would be the team's responsibility."

Construction on the 10,000-seat stadium, to be called Polar Park, has already started.

The ballpark will still be funded through new tax revenues generated from the private development that will take place in that area, as well as through stadium parking revenues.