(Editor’s note: This is the 10th installment in a weekly series spotlighting Rhode Island FC and Centreville Bank Stadium from a business perspective throughout the 2025 United Soccer League Championship season. To read past stories in this series, click here.)
PAWTUCKET – Within Centreville Bank Stadium’s north end are three relics of the city’s and, in general, Rhode Island’s sporting past, standing approximately 2 feet in height and in the colors of red, blue and green overlooking the artificial pitch.
Alongside these pieces is a commemorative plaque bolted onto the stadium’s black-colored support beams. The plaque notes where those historic pieces were once housed and what they are now in honor of.
“Honoring McCoy Stadium, Home of the Pawtucket Red Sox,” the plaque reads. “These seats once stood at McCoy Stadium, where baseball history was made and memories were cherished. Now, they serve as a tribute to Pawtucket’s rich sporting legacy, connecting the past to the future.”
The 82-year-old ballpark that was less than 2 miles east of Centreville Bank Stadium – and had sat vacant since the PawSox moved to Worcester, Mass., in 2021 – was fully torn down this spring to prep the site
to construct a $326 million new unified city high school to replace the aging Charles E. Shea and William E. Tolman high schools. Rhode Island FC’s new home also joins the cities of East Providence and Cranston in preserving the memory of McCoy Stadium by
housing some of the old stadium’s seats in other places.
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THE MULTI-COLORED blue seating around Centreville Bank Stadium's lower bowl emulates ripples in the ocean, a nod to Rhode Island's connection to the water, according to stadium officials. / PBN PHOTO / JAMES BESSETTE[/caption]
But installing the three seats from the now-demolished former PawSox home was part of Rhode Island FC’s overall plan to incorporate unique elements and features honoring the Ocean State in and around the 10,500-seat stadium. One of those seats even has an old PawSox sticker attached to it.
Plus, one notable McCoy summer tradition shifted its way from Columbia Avenue onto the banks of the Seekonk River.
Paul Byrne, Centreville Bank Stadium’s general manager, recently told Providence Business News that when he first arrived in Rhode Island when construction on the new venue started, he met many people who alluded to their many experiences at McCoy and their allegiances to the PawSox. He also heard loud and clear their disappointment about the PawSox’s departure five years ago after five decades of playing baseball in the state – including having one noteworthy 33-inning affair in 1981.
From that, Rhode Island FC’s ownership, Byrne said, made it a point that the incoming soccer club should give the Ocean State its proper due with its overall design, including the stadium. First,
Rhode Island FC’s crest design, unveiled in late 2022, includes images of ocean waves and an anchor, a nod to the state’s maritime history.
Additionally, the multi-blue-colored seating around the stadium’s lower bowl emulate the “ripples in the ocean,” Byrne said, another homage to Rhode Island’s oceanic roots. Also, the stadium recognizes Rhode Island’s industrial past by installing wood that looks reclaimed both inside the stadium’s club section and at Rhode Island FC’s downtown offices near Centreville Bank’s branch.
“It was all intentional to make this stadium feel like it is – and it really is – part of the fabric of the stadium. And people have noticed that too,” Byrne said. “The brick façades was to make sure it seemed the stadium was ingrained in this neighborhood here, like the mills. The furniture in the club is all wood-ingrained. Our marketing team has done an incredible job of pulling together the color scheme and brand, and how it resonates with Rhode Island.”
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THE CITY OF PAWTUCKET'S July 4 fireworks, synonymous with McCoy Stadium for generations, are now launched over Centreville Bank Stadium. A record crowd of 10,734 attended the July 5 Rhode Island FC match/fireworks display. / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND FC[/caption]
Plus, the city skies at Centreville Bank Stadium lit up on July 5 – literally. The city partnered with Rhode Island FC and Rhode Island Energy to hold the July 4 fireworks celebration that were once a McCoy staple for decades at the soccer stadium following the club’s 1-1 draw against Birmingham Legion FC.
And there wasn’t an empty seat in the house. The July 5 match/fireworks show drew 10,734 people to the venue, setting a new attendance record in the process. The previous high was the May 3 home opener, which brought 10,700 people through the stadium gates.
“It is important to continue to pay homage to the legacy that was here and we hope to continue on that legacy,” Byrne said.
- Current team record (wins-losses-draws): 4-8-4, 16 points; 10th place of 12 in USL Championship Eastern Conference
- Result of previous match: Indy Eleven 1, Rhode Island FC 0 (from July 12)
- Next match: July 19, vs. Hartford Athletic at Centreville Bank Stadium, 4 p.m.
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 X at @James_Bessette.