Pawtucket Mayor pleads with legislators to take up PawSox deal

By: News Staff

Email: news@abc6.com

Twitter: @ABC6

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WLNE) – The Mayor of Pawtucket gave a very passionate speech saying legislators have pulled on the heartstrings of the City by pushing this stadium deal off to next session.

Just one day after the Senate President and the Governor said they didn’t have the legislation they needed from the Mayor’s Office, Mayor Grebien is now presenting them with all of it.

"Political games" is what Mayor Don Grebien says legislators are playing by pushing off the PawSox stadium deal to next session.

"Yesterday after all the hard work, all of the several months we have done together, the state’s leaders broke my city’s heart again," said Mayor Don Grebien

The Mayor made it a point to stand in front of the state house Wednesday, presenting the missing legislation needed to push the plan forward.

"We cannot afford to lose this valuable revenue that we now receive from the PawSox," added Mayor Grebien.

Mayor Grebien says putting the deal on hold would jeopardize the PawSox staying in Pawtucket.

This final draft of the plan, submitted by the City, Commerce R.I., and the PawSox would keep the team in Pawtucket for the next 30 years.

He’s now urging the Governor to quickly give her stamp of approval and wants legislators to stay in session an extra week or two, to take it up now, and get it done.

On Tuesday, the State Senate President Dominick Ruggerio said the Mayor’s Office in Pawtucket, and the Governor, didn’t come up with the legislation on time, thus pushing the deal off.

Governor Raimondo told ABC6 Wednesday morning she would like the PawSox to stay, but she supports waiting and still is not fully endorsing, the deal.

"You know I’ve made it very clear, they’re the PawSox, I’d like them to stay in Pawtucket. We’d like to work with them to do that and hopefully that will be possible."

Mayor Grebien says he could have pushed this legislation out sooner, noting he didn’t realize legislators would pull the plug this quickly, and that he does expect Governor Raimondo to support this legislation.

A spokesperson for Governor Raimondo released a statement Wednesday evening on the matter, saying:

“The administration understands Mayor Grebien’s frustration and gives him credit for working hard to keep the PawSox in Pawtucket – an outcome the Governor still hopes can ultimately be achieved. However, over the weekend and up until the time the Senate President said time had run out, the City expressed concern about its ability to make such a large financial commitment. Governor Raimondo respects the Senate President’s decision and agrees that this is too important to rush.”

©WLNE-TV / ABC6 2017