WORCESTER, Mass. - Worcester is looking to be the front runner for the future home of the PawSox.
According to Nick Cafardo, the Red Sox reporter for the Boston Globe, baseball officials are leaning towards moving out of Rhode Island.
City leaders in Worcester have long been wooing the PawSox at the same time that Pawtucket, particularly the mayor, has been working tirelessly to keep the ballpark in the city.
Ask anyone in Pawtucket and they'll tell you, they want the team to stay put.
"To take this from Pawtucket would be tragic," said one resident. "You can see how beautiful this field is, and I hate to see them leave."
The McCoy Stadium, built in 1942, has been dealing with dwindling attendance as the mayor and some Rhode Island state leaders are fighting to keep the Red Sox Triple A team where it first started.
Last month, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed a bill to develop a brand-new $83 million stadium on the Apex property.
Cafardo told WPRO Radio that sources tell him the PawSox are leaning toward moving to Worcester.
In a statement, the PawSox told Boston 25 News:
"For the past month, PawSox officials have been meeting regularly and diligently with officials from the City of Pawtucket to discern the implications and ramifications of the Mattiello Bill that was passed June 22. The club has continued to have discussions elsewhere as well."
Tim Murray, the CEO and President of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce says the vacant lots in Kelley Square will likely be the new home for the PawSox stadium.
Murray says the ballpark would attract hotels, restaurants and tens of thousands of visitors.
The Pawtucket mayor told Boston 25 News he's working to keep the stadium put, saying:
"The city of Pawtucket and state of Rhode Island officials are working on terms and conditions for the PawSox to review based off of the legislation just passed by the R.I. General Assembly. The PawSox have committed to a thorough review process of the Pawtucket-RI terms and conditions. We expect to have everything to them in the next couple of weeks."
Work would have to begin soon for the new ballpark, given the contract for the current stadium only goes through 2020.