Given the departure of the Pawtucket Red Sox to Worcester, Mass., should the state create specific tax incentives to help Pawtucket redevelop its downtown?

PBN Staff

10/12/2018

SHATTERED DREAM: Pictured is the site of the former Apex department store in downtown Pawtucket, which had been the proposed location for a new ballpark for the Pawtucket Red Sox until the team announced it found a better deal with Worcester, Mass., where it will be moving in two years./ PBN FILE PHOTO/PAMELA BHATIA — SHATTERED DREAM: Pictured is the site of the former Apex department store in downtown Pawtucket, which had been the proposed location for a new ballpark for the Pawtucket Red Sox until the team announced it found a better deal with Worcester, Mass., where it will be moving in two years. / PBN FILE PHOTO/PAMELA BHATIA

With the reality of the departure of the Pawtucket Red Sox setting in, political leaders and small business owners are cassting about for ways to replace the nearly half a million people who visit the city to attend minor league baseball games. Many, including Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien, are calling for the state to provide economic incentives to help redevelop the city’s downtown, much as it has done for Providence for the former Interstate 195 land and other downtown sites. Does Pawtucket need such incentives? Is it a good idea to create programs targeted specifically for the Ocean State’s fourth-largest city?

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