Massachusetts

Demolition Begins in Preparation for Worcester's Polar Park

Another step has been made as the Red Sox' Triple-A affiliate prepares to move to Worcester, Massachusetts.

Demolition began Wednesday morning of the first building in the city's Canal District to be taken down to make way for Polar Park.

"Where that building is now, or was, that is going to be the left field building," explained Steven Oliveira, director of Worcester operations for the Worcester Red Sox.

The $100 million ballpark will be replacing the former Wyman-Gordon plant, vacant warehouses, garages, parking lots and several businesses that have relocated to make way for the Worcester Red Sox baseball team.

"It's fantastic for Worcester. It's going to change the entire landscape. We're very happy to be a part of it," said Charran Fisher, president of Fisher Contracting Corporation, which is involved in the project.

It's a process that started in August 2017, when Worcester began serious talks to try to convince the Pawtucket Red Sox management to move its team north.

"It's been two long years, first a year of wooing and negotiating a deal, and then a year of planning, acquiring the properties," said Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus Jr.

And this is just the first inning of a year-and-a-half-long construction phase to get Polar Park ready to play ball.

"Over the course of the winter, you'll start to see the steel elements of the concourse and of the building structure of the ballpark starting to come out of the ground," Augustus said.

"We have no doubt that we'll be up and running in April 2021 and you’ll see Triple-A baseball here in Worcester," Oliveira added.

Augustus says work on reconstructing Kelley Square will begin this fall.

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