Opinion/Patinkin: Shades of the PawSox, as RI pols pile on against the new soccer stadium

I thought our leaders had learned a lesson after the tragic loss of the PawSox.

Apparently not all of them.

Now that the state Commerce Corporation has backed the proposed Pawtucket soccer stadium, the wailing has begun — of nearsighted politicians opposing it.

Gov. Dan McKee was the tie-breaking Commerce Corporation yes vote OK'ing public funds to help turn the neglected banks of Pawtucket’s downtown river into a vibrant sports, residential and commercial center, with a minor league soccer venue as anchor.

But once again, a stadium deal is a hot potato, because inflation has driven costs to $124 million.

The saga: Good deal or own goal? The Pawtucket soccer stadium is on again

With McKee rescuing the deal, Commerce agreed to $36 million in public borrowing, though that will be paid back in stadium tax revenue. There’s also $10 million from Pawtucket and $14 million in state tax credits.

Voters almost always initially oppose giving taxpayer money to public-private partnerships, so it’s controversial, of course. Predictably, McKee’s deciding yes vote sparked a PawSox-type pile-on.

One of those attacking the deal was Luis Daniel Muñoz, a doctor and community organizer running for governor. I’ve admired Dr. Muñoz, but his rhetoric misses the mark.

He called the deal “38 Studios 2.0.”

Patinkin's opinion: Is Pawtucket about to lose another stadium?

Using that comparison, as did opponents of the ballpark in 2018, was an unfair comparison then, and it is now.

There’s zero analogy between ex-pitcher Curt Schilling wanting to make video games, and an established developer and Brown grad like Fortuitous Partners CEO Brett Johnson, who owns a successful minor league soccer team in Phoenix, trying to put another one here.

A closer look: Seeing soccer stadium site up close with Pawtucket mayor, who worries state won't step up

Former Secretary of State Matt Brown, another contender for governor, also piled on, taking the too-easy class warfare approach, saying McKee is handing millions to for-profit developers while regular people struggle.

Please. No one disputes that it's government’s role to help folks who struggle, but it should also create great things that enhance community.

The class-warfare argument is ironic, since killing the soccer stadium would hurt regular folks the most, denying them an affordable new recreational escape. Minor league tickets are cheap, and a new soccer venue would give decades of memories to countless everyday parents and kids.

I also admire both Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea and former CVS exec Helena Foulkes, who are running for governor, as well. But they’re trying to have it both ways on this, saying they kind of, sort of, maybe back the stadium, but it should’ve been a better deal.

Well, sure, but if all these critics had spent time touring the soccer site with Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien, as I did, they’d have heard that he’s struggled for years to make the numbers happen.

A final goodbye: WooSox commemorate their time in Pawtucket

Grebien told me he’s begun to see echoes of the PawSox debacle here — with pols delaying an agreement for years in pursuit of the impossible perfect deal until the developers give up.

McKee has his flaws, but it should be said that unlike the stadium critics today, and Speaker Nicholas Mattiello in 2018, he’s showing political courage backing something controversial that would add richness to the state.

The 'ayes' have it: Pawtucket soccer stadium moves ahead on McKee tiebreaking vote

One person who sees that with clarity is Karl Wadensten, the only Commerce vote years ago against the admittedly disastrous 38 Studios.

Wadensten, CEO of an industrial company, is still on Commerce and has extra credibility because he abstained on the soccer stadium vote last week, wanting a little more information.

But now that Commerce approved the funding, he thinks it will be terrific for Rhode Island, and that the whole project, called Tidewater Landing, will transform a “spectacular” riverfront location and bring downtown Pawtucket alive.

Wadensten says it’s not helpful for other state leaders to start criticizing from the backseat.

“We have to get behind this now,” he told me, “to make it the best damn soccer stadium in the Northeast Corridor.”

He added: “If we’re cynical and skeptical, the outcome could be very different.”

McKee’s opponents I’m sure would say they are vying to be governor so that they can build a better Rhode Island.

If that’s indeed their goal — making our state more vibrant — it’s curious behavior to be throwing stones at the now-approved soccer stadium.

— mpatinki@providencejournal.com

To our readers

This column was written in reaction to state approval of the Tidewater Landing stadium development. For our regularly scheduled Sunday Opinion content, see Pages 24A and 25A. 

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Patinkin: Shades of the PawSox, as RI pols pile on against new stadium