PAWTUCKET – The opportunity to own a piece of Rhode Island baseball history – before it becomes history – will finally begin next week.
The city announced Friday that it will hold its online auction of various items and memorabilia of McCoy Stadium will begin July 15 and run through July 26. The city says the auction will be hosted on the “BetterWorld” online platform where local people can purchase a piece of the former Pawtucket Red Sox home while also supporting local charities. The auction link will be accessible on
the city’s website.
Among the items available for auction include stadium seats, signs, photos and various memorabilia from the 82-year-old, city-owned stadium. Regarding the seats, the city says they are installed as rows and cannot be purchased as individual seats. Bidders can purchase a row of 15-20 seats at the auction.
The city also says former PawSox season ticket holders with nameplates only will have first claims on their specific seats from McCoy. If they wish to acquire just their seat, it will be limited to the seat back or the entire row. The cost for each seat back is set at $100, the city says, and a row will begin at $200.
Additionally, the city advises that many items have been damaged or graffitied and the team took most of the equipment when it relocated to Worcester, Mass., in 2021. All profits raised from the auction will support the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket, Pawtucket YMCA, Little Sisters of the Poor, Pawtucket Soup Kitchen and the creation of Ben Mondor Park, the city says.
“We are thrilled to see the community's overwhelming interest in the McCoy Stadium auction,” Mayor Donald R. Grebian said in a statement. “This initiative allows us to deliver cherished memorabilia to our loyal fans while supporting organizations that have been pillars of our community. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.”
McCoy Stadium, first built in 1942, has sat vacant since the PawSox ceased playing in the city in 2019 after a half century. The 2020 International League season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city
first announced last July that it would auction off McCoy memorabilia and it was initially scheduled for last fall. However, the city was still reviewing a proposal from billionaire Stefan Soloviev, chairman of Soloviev Group – the parent company of Crossroads Agriculture, the Colorado Pacific Railroad, the Soloviev Building Corp. and other entities – on possibly saving the stadium. That proposal fell through.
The stadium site is planned to become a new combined 482,500-square-foot high school to replace the aging Charles E. Shea and William E. Tolman high schools. Voters back in November 2022
overwhelmingly approved a $330 million bond for the project.
Last month, the Pawtucket City Council
unanimously approved the city’s issuance of up to $110 million in general obligation bonds to help finance McCoy’s demolition and build the new school.
City spokesperson Grace Voll told Providence Business News at the time that demolition of McCoy will “roughly” take place between the fall and winter. She says “multiple assessments,” including demolition costs, need to be done before the wrecking ball is taken to the stadium after the auction.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
