Rhode Island AFL-CIO Supports New Stadium for Pawtucket
At a recent meeting, the Executive Board of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO voted unanimously to support the proposed Ballpark at Slater Mill. "The Board reviewed the proposal and saw this as an excellent economic development opportunity to revitalize downtown Pawtucket and keep a treasured Rhode Island institution in our state.
At a recent meeting, the Executive Board of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO voted unanimously to support the proposed Ballpark at Slater Mill.
"The Board reviewed the proposal and saw this as an excellent economic development opportunity to revitalize downtown <st1:city w:st="on">Pawtucket and keep a treasured <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rhode Island institution in our state. This project goes far beyond baseball; it's more than just a ballpark. The PawSox and City of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pawtucket are creating a year round public space for all residents to enjoy. It will provide families with a beautiful berm inside the park, a riverfront picnic park along the falls, and an amenity to promote more development in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pawtucket," said George Nee, President of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO
Michael Sabitoni, Rhode Island AFL-CIO board member and President of the <st1:placename w:st="on">Rhode Island <st1:placetype w:st="on">Building and Construction Trades Council added, "The $45 million investment by the PawSox ownership will provide good, high wage, family sustaining jobs to hundreds of <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rhode Island's men and women in the building and construction trades. The Ballpark at Slater Mill will be a state of the art facility that players, fans, and residents will be proud to call the home of the PawSox for years to come."
The ancillary development will help to revitalize downtown and become an attractive gateway to <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rhode Island. The payment for the bonds issued by the Pawtucket Redevelopment Agency will come from taxes generated by the ballpark. The state's average annual payment will be $1.4 million, and this payment is well below the existing revenues currently being sent to the state. There is also the safeguard that the Pawtucket Red Sox will pay for any construction cost overruns.
The Rhode Island AFL-CIO looks forward to the future discussions on this important economic development project and to the not too distant day when there will be cranes over <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pawtucket building a home for future Major League stars.