Worcester's Polar Park Is Voted The Best Triple-A Ballpark In America!

Dante5/12/2023 9:10 PM

Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox. Getty Images.

WBEZ Boston - Welcome to Worcester, home of the best Triple-A ballpark in America.
Polar Park received a nice honor on its second birthday, as fans voted the home of the Worcester Red Sox as the best ballpark in all of Triple-A.
After five rounds of voting with over 87,000 participants, Polar Park sits atop all other Triple-A ballparks in the country, Ballpark Digest announced on Thursday. It beat out Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark -- the home of the Oklahoma City Dodgers of the Pacific Coast League -- in the championship final round of the bracket-style competition.
Since Polar Park officially opened on May 11, 2021, baseball fans have been treated to an incredible atmosphere thanks to the stadium's open, fan-friendly design -- not to mention some delicious concessions and fun baseball from the top minor league team in the Red Sox system.
Just a few weeks ago on April 30, Polar Park welcomed its 1,000,000th fan, hitting that milestone in less than two years.
"We want to thank, among others, City of Worcester officials, our fans nationwide, our business partners, the State of Massachusetts, the construction workers, and of course Ballpark Digest for this award," Worcester Red Sox Chairman & Principal Owner Larry Lucchino said in Ballpark Digest. "We are honored and proud of Polar Park and the impact it has had in Central Massachusetts and beyond and we appreciate this recognition."

Who would have thought?

Did the one-eyed bandit do it again or did the one-eyed bandit do it again?

(The one-eyed bandit being Larry Lucchino. Not Dave.)

Back in 2018 when Lucchino announced he was moving the Sox triple A affiliate from gorgeous Pawtucket, Rhode Island to Worcester, MA, it was met with a lot of head scratches.

Even more so when the picked Plymouth St, in the "canal district", aka the heart of the heroin highway for the park's location.

But credit where credit is due, they knocked it out of the park. Pun intended.

And they've done it by putting the fans first on just about everything. From getting to the park, offering tons of free and $5 parking around the stadium, to getting into the stadium cheap- $9 WooSox Loop tickets or $8 Yaz tickets…

The park also features great amenities and concessions. All the local favorites are there, including George's Coney Island. They're also slinging Table Talk pies which is amazing.

(sidebar - man oh man do I miss these Wachusett chips)

They've also got "The Sausage Guy", and Wonder Bar pizzas there.

All in all the park offers over 111 different food items, including lobster rolls, clam chowder, and corn dogs, which is pretty impressive for a minor-league operation.

They're also a success story financially -

The Athletic - The success of Worcester as the franchise’s Triple-A affiliate was among the understated, under-the-radar victories within the organization last season. The team finished barely above .500 but largely did its job in supplementing the major-league roster. More important for the affiliate’s long-term viability, the WooSox drew just over 532,000 fans last season, the fifth-most in the minor leagues and within 3,000 of the third-most. They led the minor leagues in tickets sold.

They're drawing pretty decent-sized crowds.

In the first three home games of this season, Worcester drew 25,312.

Sadly, I have yet to visit the park. (The team's PR team has been extending me invites since last season but I wasn't able to get to one. I will 100% this summer and report back about the experience.) But it's been great hearing from friends about taking their families there for games and enjoying a night of baseball without spending a fortune.

It's also help revitalize that area, which is now bustling with new commercial and residential real estate.

As much as I hate Lucchino for what he did to Theo (and Francona, and pretty much anybody and everybody) I have to appreciate what he did for the woo, the second biggest city in New England.