WooSox Negotiated Naming Of New Worcester Park, Plaza

WORCESTER, MA — The deal to name a new public space near Polar Park was negotiated exclusively by the Worcester Red Sox, but a share of the proceeds from the deal will go back to a city agency.

During a Worcester Redevelopment Authority (WRA) meeting Thursday morning, Worcester Chief Development Officer Peter Dunn told members that the WooSox were allowed to negotiate the deal to name Rockland Trust Plaza as part of a larger agreement between the agency and the team.

City Attorney Michael Traynor also said during the meeting that the baseball team has more expertise in negotiating naming rights than the city.

Rockland Trust, a regional chain with branches in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, will pay $80,000 per year for the naming rights for at least three years. The WooSox and the WRA will split those proceeds, Dunn said.

The WooSox have the right to negotiate sponsorships, Dunn said, as part of the Canal District Ballpark DIF. Tax revenue from developments inside that nearly 30-acre district around Polar Park will be used to pay back the bonds Worcester borrowed to pay for the construction of the ballpark.

The 45 Green St. plaza is owned by the WRA, but will be transferred to city ownership in the future. The discussion about the Rockland Plaza naming rights took place as the WRA board members were approving payments for work at the park.

There will be a few more naming rights deals coming up in the district, Dunn told the WRA members. The new parking garage along Madison Street across from Polar Park will get a name in a deal that will be negotiated by the city, not the WooSox. And digital kiosks planned for the downtown area will also get sponsorships. Rockland Trust will get the right of first refusal for naming rights on a kiosk near the plaza named for the bank.

Local officials dedicated Rockland Trust Plaza in late May. The 30,000 square foot plaza contains seating, a grassy area and a water feature. The site was previously a parking lot, and Worcester used a $3.5 million MassWorks grant to build the park.

After the dedication in May, Worcester held a second ceremony to dedicate a memorial grove at the plaza named for Josiah Pickett, a Civil War commander from Massachusetts and a 19th Century Worcester postmaster. The Pickett dedication was part of Worcester's tercentennial celebration over the weekend of June 11.