PawSox Fans Should Take Themselves out to the Ball Game While They Can
March 13, 2015 - International League (IL1)
Pawtucket Red Sox News Release
An open letter to PawSox fans:
The 2015 home opener is scheduled for Thursday, April 16. Clear the schedule and come on down to McCoy Stadium.
There's also a game at the venerable ballyard the next night, and the following day, and the day after that and ... you get the idea.
If people are hell-bent on doing everything within their grasp to show the new ownership group that the PawSox should remain a Pawtucket staple, they need to come out in droves to McCoy this season. Mobilize and have your message heard in perhaps the loudest and clearest way possible - by accounting for all the seats and suites and scooping up every last spot in the bleachers and left-field berm.
You're then on record in decreeing that you don't want the PawSox to pack up the moving van and move 10 minutes or so down Interstate 95 to a Providence location that like the starting pitcher for the nightcap of a doubleheader, is TBD. The 72 regular-season home games on tap at the old standby, located off Columbus Ave., represent 72 chances to state a case as to why everything should be left well enough alone.
The battle cry to "#KeepThePawinPawSox" - a popular Twitter feed that was started by the user @Pawtucket Life - was sounded the same day that new president James Skeffington stated, "Pawtucket used to be number one in the International League in attendance. In the last five years, we've slid a little bit."
As part of the same introductory press conference, Skeffington let it be known that one of ownership's goals is to reverse declining attendance. It was more about stating cold-hard facts as opposed to taking dead aim at a regional fan base that in some respects has neglected one of the best entertainment values in the state.
Maybe the warning signs were fired long before Madeleine Mondor signed over the franchise that her late husband Ben built from the ground floor up to Skeffington, Larry Lucchino and a group of investors.
In August 2013, an article that ran in the Pawtucket Times and Woonsocket Call mentioned that that the Providence/Pawtucket market weighed in at a solid 12th out of 229 minor-league markets that were taken under advisement by Smith Street's SportsBusiness Journal. In the same survey that was conducted two years earlier by the same group, the Providence/Pawtucket market checked in at third.
David Broughton, who spearheaded the research for the SBJ article noted that total attendance between the Providence Bruins and PawSox had dropped 7.2 percent over a three-year period. It cuts deeper as Broughton brought up the survey's choice for the top 2013 market - a fellow International League member - and how it was able to not get bogged down by its surroundings.
"It's all how the fan responds in the face of or despite economic conditions," said Broughton. "You look at Toledo, which was ranked number one this year. The economy is terrible. They continue to lose population and money within the market but somehow have seen increases in attendance over the last five years."
When you lay it out like that, it makes it even more alarming what has happened in Pawtucket in recent years.
The PawSox ranked ninth in the 14-team International League in attendance last season, drawing 7,367 fans per game. They last led the league in paying customers in 2006 with an average of 9,289 fans passing through the McCoy turnstiles. In 2005, that figure was 9,561 patrons.
Whether you want to lay all of Pawtucket's attendance issues at the feet of a still-sagging economy, or that the appeal in Red Sox Nation has waned considerably in the post-Curse of the Bambino era ... the point is that our beloved Triple-A team is on the precipice of turning over a new leaf. Old traditions like hanging a milk carton over the rail in hopes of getting a player's autograph could be giving way to new ones such as watching home runs disappear into the Providence River.
In an effort to make those bright spots shine through ominous clouds a little brighter, let's remember that the PawSox aren't vacating their McCoy turf any time soon. They are still part of Pawtucket's fabric.
While all the drives to collect signatures along with all the awareness that has been raised through social media represent nice touches, they are not nearly enough. You really and truly want to get a point across to the new owners?
It's simple: Show up to McCoy!
• Discuss this story on the International League message board...
International League Stories from March 13, 2015
- Bisons Annual 'Open House' Tomorrow at Coca-Cola Field - Buffalo Bisons
- Red Wings Announce 2015 TV Schedule - Rochester Red Wings
- Red Sox Sign INF Yoan Moncada to Minor League Contract - Pawtucket Red Sox
- Red Sox Agree to Terms with 21 Players on 2015 Contracts - Pawtucket Red Sox
- PawSox Fans Should Take Themselves out to the Ball Game While They Can - Pawtucket Red Sox
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
