WORCESTER, Mass. — The Worcester City Council has taken its first step to approving the deal that’s bring the PawSox back to the Commonwealth.
The Worcester Red Sox, as they’ll be called, are dependent upon a stadium financing deal that will build a new ball park in Worcester’s Kelley Square.
Wednesday night, the city council voted to initially approve loan orders amounting to more than $100 million for the construction of the 10,000-seat stadium.
Councilwoman Konstantina B. Lukes was the lone vote against the measure as it passed 9-1 Wednesday evening.
The resolution approves a tax-increment financing (TIF) district for Madison Downtown Holdings for a hotel and apartment complex redevelopment in Kelley Square.
After the vote, Mayor Joseph Petty announced a town-wide celebration of the new deal on Worcester Common Monday, beginning at 5 p.m. The celebration will include food trucks, former baseball players and a fireworks show.
The promised stadium will be owned by the city at a cost of nearly $90 million and will anchor a redevelopment project in what is now mostly abandoned lots.
MORE: PawSox moving to Worcester, official announcement to come Friday
Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/HH6QAZQP2RQF472I4WOATTW72Y.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/BANZ7SZQGRBNNH3EUYVT3XKMWA.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/ZFDDK64EBVFG3DAGFTEPP6YFAM.PNG)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LV43NZ7BBNCMFOGP3TAAV2X2KU.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/Q5HFEVPNU5BWJAKHVMTAK4T5XA.jpg)