McCoy Stadium

There is life for McCoy Stadium without the PawSox. Pawtucket resumed their annual 4th of July fireworks, this past Sunday.
The display was beautiful and the crowd was large and everyone behaved.
The fireworks have been an annual tradition. Hopefully we will see them next year.

Thank you Pawtucket.

This place I'll miss. Constructed in 1942 as part of a dubious state jobs program intended to support the war effort, mighty McCoy stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island rose from the muck as tribute to a political culture in Providence that would sink to any depths necessary to line their pockets in pursuit of "good" government, thick envelopes and a few patronage jobs.

It's nice to know that while the rest of the country was saving their sardine tins to build tanks, in Rhode Island they were squandering tons of tempered steel to build a ballpark. With entrepreneurial thinking like that, McCoy could have just as easily been built in New Jersey's political quagmire.

Utilitarian and defiant, McCoy has seen it's share of glory and infamy. Professional Baseball's longest game (33 innings) was played here in 1981. During initial construction, equipment slipped beneath the quicksand of an infield built over wetlands reinforced with garbage and silt.

And in 1983, it was my pleasure to watch a determined and enigmatic Mark "The Bird" Fidrych attempt to resurrect his storybook career with the PawSox. He didn't have it but the standing ovation was magical. A beautiful night, a ticket, a few dogs and a couple of beers for less than $20. Baseball purity.

Now the wrecking ball awaits as the ballyard has one last hurrah as the Red Sox "alternative site" during the Covid shortened 2020 season. The PawSox will soon relocate to Worcester, Massachusetts with a locker room full of tax abatements in hand and a suddenly sullen outlook for Minor League Baseball as their Major League masters dismantle teams, dissolve leagues and leave communities to pay for mandated stadia that are now useless.

Ironic that the lords of baseball are so desperate to attract new fans that they elect to alienate millions that already love the game and support it in smaller communities nationwide.

No matter, the simplicity and joy of minor league play in Pawtucket will be a fond memory forever even as the grand old game debases itself for a quick buck. So long McCoy and fare thee well.

Going to miss coming to games here! Was always a fun time and affordable til the Red Sox ownership got their greedy hands on it

Who doesn't love a great ball game at a fraction of the cost. Paw's is always roaming around and you have tons of great photo ops. Every seat in the house is great. Beer and food vendor prices are reasonable as well. Parking can be a bit of a hassle but you just have to know to come a bit early, or park on a surrounding side street.

I have been here twice for their craft beer and food truck festival, sadly this year would be my last. Almost all beer vendors ran out of beer by 8:45pm when the event was scheduled to end at 10pm.

Two weeks ago, I visited Hartford's Dunkin' Donuts Park during its inaugural season. Its a glitzy brand new minor league stadium located in downtown Hartford.

A few days ago, I visited Pawtucket's McCoy Stadium, built in 1942. Sure it's showing some signs of age and the City of Pawtucket is examining the future of the ballpark.

Bottom line is this -if you love baseball, and love the charm of what a day at a minor league ballpark brings, you really can't go wrong with a visit to Pawtucket.

Parking is free. The ticket price is next to nothing. You can get real close to the action. We were so close to the bullpen, we could see the pitchers faces and hear the whiz and POP of the ball in the catcher's glove.

There is a ton of fun between innings -eyeball races, mascot races, all sorts of fun crowd-engagement activities, tee shirt tosses, throw a ball into the sunroof of a moving vehicle, kids running around cleaning off the bases, etc.

Our group sales outing sat in the white tent and had a BBQ Lunch before the game. Burgers, dogs, BBQ Chicken, macaroni salad, baked beans, ice cream, lemonade and iced tea. We had a freaking blast !

When you enter the stadium you'll see banners for all of the big leaguers whose career path took them through Pawtucket. You could make one hell of an All Star Team out of those names.

One of those names was Carlton Fisk, and we saw him live and in person as he was inducted into the Pawtucket Hall of Fame before the game.

I hope the future is kind to McCoy Stadium.

If you really want the feel of a minor league stadium, McCoy Stadium will definitely give you what you want.

My fiance and I have been to over half of the MLB stadiums and a few minor league stadiums, but going to a PawSox game was a new experience for the both of us. The stadium was unique to all of the stadiums we had ever been to.

To summarize, the stadium gave off a middle of nowhere type of vibe. The area was quiet, the stadium was not big by any stretch and there was a local feel to the crowd. Everyone was really into the game, as though they were at an MLB game. As for the structure itself, there was nothing fancy or modern about it. Although there were renovations done to it about 20 years ago, the stadium still looked like it was trapped in the 1950s, with giant pillars embedded inside sections of seating. It's how I imagined stadiums of the past looked.

The concessions were quite limited as well. There were your typical hot dogs, burgers, chicken tenders and fries, but not much else to choose from. The selections just kept repeating everywhere we walked.

One great thing about the stadium though was that there was not a bad seat in the house. Because the stadium was so intimate, every seat made for a great seat, including the ones out in the left field lawn. Also, if you bought a General Admission ticket, you could sit anywhere within the stadium, other than the red seats that are closer to the field, which is awesome!

If you're curious about parking, parking was also free for those who parked within the stadium lot. However, we were warned that it could get full, which meant fans arriving later would have to park elsewhere outside.

Dump but Fun

PawSox (minor league to Boston Red Sox) baseball. Terrific, affordable summer FAMILY fun; weekdays AND weekends. Buy tickets early for future games...best seats go fast.

Too bad the PawSox are gone now. It's sad.

Thanks

We went to dinner here on a Saturday evening at 8 and it was just a lovely evening. They call it Dinner on the Diamond. We made our reservations online and selected from the menu and ordered online including beverages. They offered beer and wine and non-alcoholic beverages. We had the lobster roll and the chicken caprese. When we got there we could see how safe it was. We were distanced and then we were welcomed so warmly.
We were seated right away and we sat at what would be kind of a picnic table but more comfortable as you didn't have to climb over the bench to sit and they had benches on all four sides with lovely cloth table cloth. The table had a gift for us on it which was very nice. We got a miniature of McCoy Stadium.
Then our drinks were served and they brought our dinners in styrofoam containers with wrapped plastic utensils and napkins. I asked for ketchup and they brought little packets very quickly. They made a mistake on one of our orders and we got 4 lobster rolls instead of three rolls and the chicken. They were so apologetic and so kind and couldn't do more to make up for it. It really wasn't a big deal to us but they were just so nice that they really made us feel special.
We got the chicken dinner within minutes and we all enjoyed our meals very much. It was so much fun to be seated in the outfield on that beautiful grass and kind of sad to be looking at McCoy Stadium which is no longer going to belong to Rhode Island. It is sad to lose our PawSox and use of that beautiful Stadium. They offer this dinner which is very reasonably priced on weekends and you need to register online because they sell out very quickly. They offer a 5:00, 6:30, and an 8:00 serving. Definitely a wonderful summer experience.

Great family fun especially if you're a Sox fan.

Tickets are cheap & they are always running giveaways it seems. Patriots player Stephon Gilmore was signing autographs after throwing out the first pitch on my last visit.

There truly are no bad seats. I've been 4 times & no matter where I sat I could see the action with no obstruction. Even in the last row you feel close to the action.

Only drawbacks are lack of food options. Don't expect anything other than your usual ballpark fare. On the upside concessions prices don't seem too high for me. A draft of Grey Sail's beer set me back $9 but it's cool that they have lots of local RI beers on tap.

And yes McCoy has seen better days but it's pretty iconic considering the caliber of players that have been through Pawtucket. They have a pretty cool display on the longest game ever played that you need to check out if you visit.

Before I start let me preface this review by stating that this stadium is OLD and I don't mean that In a bad way. I just mean it is well loved and should be taken into consideration for those whom are expecting all the bells and whistles of a newer minor major league ballpark.

BUT what it lacks in fancy amenities it makes up for in good old fashioned fun. For less than $20 where else can you sit within spitting distance from future major league ball players. Where else can you grab a beer (There is one vendor that sells Foolproof IPA so search them out) and a chicken sandwich prepared before you and watch patrons who are there for the very reason you are...to watch America's past time and maybe catch a glimpse of tomorrow All Stars.

Parking is easy and it's a great place to bring the family. Thee is not much entertainment around but hey you are here to see baseball what more could you ask for.