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News & Politics

Tom Ryan And Terry Murray’s Dilemma (Published in Providence Journal 7/18/18)

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TOM RYAN AND TERRY MURRAY’S DILEMMA

They are two business giants of Rhode Island. Terry Murray, of Fleet Bank fame, grew up in Woonsocket and Tom Ryan, former CVS leader, ran his corporate empire from the same city. Both made their fortunes in the Ocean State. Now Ryan and Murray face a crucial decision. After decades of mostly accolades for their business acumen and generous philanthropy the final pages of their Rhode Island legacies may read, “Local owners part of a group which allowed a 40 year tradition of Pawtucket Red Sox baseball to end.”

Ryan and Murray may only be two of the nine owners of the PawSox, but, they are the most well known Rhode Islanders of the group. Yet, they have been oddly silent during all the possible permutations of the three years journey from Providence to Pawtucket to, possibly, Worcester. Perhaps the fact that in retirement Ryan and Murray are only part time Rhode Islanders assuages any guilt they might feel in allowing the team to cross the border into Massachusetts.

They are allowing Larry Lucchino, PawSox Chairman and co-owner, to be the front man in all the negotiations. I truly believe Lucchino initially wanted to keep the team in Rhode Island, but, most of all as a builder of ballparks, Camden Yards and Petco Park, he wants to build one more stadium before he takes down his shingle. The long, arduous process which has included missteps by the PawSox themselves, state politicians and the city of Pawtucket has worn Pittsburg native Lucchino down to the point of likely moving the team to Worcester.

There is much more than a ballpark at stake here. Losing the PawSox likely means the end of any hope of revitalizing the Main Street core of Pawtucket. Yes, the city has had some small recent success in opening breweries and artist lofts, but, none of this activity has touched the old heart of the city where vacant, or underutilized, buildings continue down the shoddy path of disrepair.

Ryan and Murray could shift the focus from “Save the PawSox.” to “Save Pawtucket.” They, and all the team owners, should immediately tour the stretch of Main Street in downtown Pawtucket which runs from Roosevelt Avenue to North Union Street with Governor Raimondo, Mayor Grebien, House Speaker Mattiello, local developers like the Peregrine Group, The Procaccianti Group, Brady/Sullivan Properties, plus the C.E.O.’s of Hasbro, CVS and Textron and finally the Presidents of Johnson and Wales, Providence College, Brown, RISD, Bryant and New England Tech to explore the vast potential in revitalizing this area in conjunction with the new stadium at the Apex site.

Saving, renewing downtown Pawtucket as part of the stadium project would resonate much more powerfully with Rhode Islanders than the failed, current tactic of showing artist renderings of proposed new buildings “somewhere” near the ballpark. Repurposing the old, iconic W.T. Grant, Shartenberg’s and Industrial Bank properties means much more to the locals than the sterile new buildings which may, or may not, be built as shown in the various plans. While you will never convince the cadre of loud “not one cent of my money” obstructionist you would win over many undecideds with a plan which speaks to their memories of a vibrant downtown Pawtucket.

So, Misters Ryan and Murray, why am I singling out you two, limited team partners, for this task? Because you have the cache, the local credibility to make this happen. Lucchino, despite his initial good intentions, will always be viewed as the outsider, the interloper.

When the new Durham Bulls Athletic Park opened in North Carolina in 1995 principal owner Jim Goodmon was seen as a villain who had forced the construction against the will of the people. However, Goodmon wisely also purchased the abandoned, sprawling American Tobacco Company property which lay directly across the street from the new ballpark’s main entrance and quickly transformed it into a beautiful, vibrant mix of start up companies, restaurants and apartments. This thoughtful repurposing of a group of old iconic buildings turned him into a hero. In tribute the playing surface of Durham Bulls Athletic Park is now known as Goodmon Field.

Misters Ryan and Murray, that is a legacy to emulate.

Save the real Pawtucket by saving the PawSox.

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Jim Raftus, a retired marketing director, lives in Cumberland.
Contact: jraftus@aol.com

News & Politics

PawSox And Downtown: A Challenge (Published Providence Journal 10/27/17)

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PAWSOX AND DOWNTOWN: A CHALLENGE

I went downtown Pawtucket on a fact finding trip for this commentary expecting to find urban blight. I did, but, I found some surprises as well.

My premise was to walk the route down Main Street from the future Pawtucket – Central Fall Rail Station location to the proposed new PawSox stadium Apex site. This is being touted as the likely path baseball fans will take from the station. It is not a pretty picture.

Starting from the Pawtucket School Department building at 268 Main Street to the East Avenue intersection there are a total of twelve storefronts. Eight of the buildings are not in use; boarded up and sadly deteriorating interiors. Some of these underutilized buildings are especially disheartening to baby boomers who knew the city in better days. The white marbled Albert J. Vitali building, which served as the old Industrial National Bank, still has a beautiful facade. The W.T. Grant building at 250 Main evokes memories of long ago shopping trips with parents. The interior of the Grant’s building still looks like a smaller version of the Arcade in Providence. It is now mostly vacant with only two visible businesses, the Flying Shutter and the CSPH organization.

Baseball fans traveling this route will not be in any hurry to return to Pawtucket.

A key financial element in the PawSox proposal consist of the added revenue to be generated from “ancillary development’ to be built near the ballpark. The team, and Pawtucket officials, speak optimistically of the Peregrine Group’s plan to develop properties near Division Street and the PawSox commitment to build 50,000 square feet of mixed use properties nearby. This sounds fine, but, Division Street is not downtown and the new buildings planned by the PawSox are in close proximity to the park. This new construction will have minimal effect on the deteriorating core of Main Street. When Apex moved into this location, while it enjoyed a decades long success, it did not bring vitality to the struggling business sector just down the street. When discharged from the Army in 1971, I worked at Apex. I know the minimal effect it had.

So, why are the team and the city entirely focused on new construction rather than revitalizing what exist? Have the city officials given up on this area? Why not make Main Street and downtown the gateway to the ballpark?

After the new Durham Bulls Park was completed in 1995 the owner, Jim Goodmon, knew the ballpark was not enough to turn around the blighted area. Rather than constructing new edifices he retrofitted the abandoned American Tobacco Company building turning it into a profitable twelve months a year mixed use complex.

I want the PawSox and Pawtucket to succeed. I was privileged to serve on the Pawtucket’s 21 Vietnam Heroes monument committee and I know how supportive the team and the city were to our efforts.

The surprises I saw after my depressing downtown walk? To gather more information I made my first ever stop to the Pawtucket Visitor’s Center. Located on Main Street they were hosting the 18th Pawtucket Film Festival inside its lovely small theatre which uses seats reclaimed from the old Leroy Theatre. A very nice touch. Also, curious to see the new microbreweries which are touted as part of the Pawtucket renaissance, I found The Guild at 461 Main Street near the new train station site. They were hosting an event and it was packed with young couples and families having a wonderful time. These are a nice beginnings.

I know Mayor Grebien and the PawSox want Pawtucket to succeed. With the impending loss of Memorial Hospital and the Gamm Theatre it is vital to reverse this slide and get momentum back.

I challenge them to think outside the box and focus on getting all the entities involved to make the true downtown a critical component of the proposal.

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