Ballpark plan loses champion

The unexpected death of attorney James J. Skeffington on May 17 raises new questions about the proposed movement of the Pawtucket Red Sox to a new ballpark in Providence, though the team’s owners say their plans and timetable are unchanged.

Skeffington, one of two principal owners of the AAA baseball team, was widely regarded as the leading local advocate for a Providence ballpark. He was seen as an accomplished dealmaker with a track record of producing significant development in Rhode Island.

The initial proposal made by team owners – for a $70 million ballpark that would require both state and city tax incentives, including a state contribution of $4 million a year for 30 years – was widely criticized as being excessive. Skeffington, the team president, had led discussions with state leaders about the next steps.

Rep. Carlos E. Tobon, D-Pawtucket, worries Rhode Island might lose the team altogether without its primary local advocate.

- Advertisement -

“I felt his advocacy was being the glue to keeping it in Rhode Island,” Tobon said. “Now it’s just a matter of keeping it in the state.”

PawSox officials, however, say their desired site is still the 9.5 acres on the former I-195 lands in downtown Providence. And the goal remains a deal by June, according to Patti Doyle, a spokeswoman for the team.

Larry Lucchino, president and CEO of the Boston Red Sox, and a principal owner with Skeffington in the PawSox, will now spearhead the owners’ negotiations with the state, she said last week.

In the days following Skeffington’s death, neither Lucchino nor Gov. Gina M. Raimondo could be immediately reached for comment on the status of continued negotiations.

Wendy Schiller, an associate professor of political science at Brown University, is skeptical that a June deadline is feasible, given all that Raimondo and legislative leaders have to wade through in ongoing budget deliberations. The owners will also need time to resolve their new organization, she said, including addressing what happens to Skeffington’s ownership stake.

His death is a setback for a proposal that was already facing opposition, she said. “He was a forceful, charismatic guy who knew how to get things done,” she said.

The I-195 commission, which met last week for its regular monthly meeting, has hired several consultants to evaluate the stadium plan, and their work is continuing, according to Jan Brodie, the commission’s executive director. The reports, describing impacts on traffic, the environment and other issues, are not expected to be completed until late August, according to Joseph Azrack, the commission’s chairman.

Following the commission meeting last week, he said it was too soon to say what impact Skeffington’s death would have on the direction of negotiations.

“We really haven’t thought about what the implications might be,” he said. •

No posts to display