Polar Park

• Name: Polar Park
• GPS-able Address: 100 Madison Street, Worcester, MA 01608
• Ballpark Owner: City of Worcester
• Architect(s): DAIQ Architects
• Groundbreaking: 7/11/2019
• Minor League Baseball Team: Worcester Red Sox (AAA) 2021-present
• Class/League of MiLB Tenant(s): AAA/International League 2022-present; AAA/Triple-A East 2021
• First Pro Baseball Game: 5/11/2021; stadium debut of Class AAA Red Sox
• Others Playing or Operating Here: None
• Previous Ballpark Names: None
• LF: 329 CF: 402 RF: 320
• Seats: 9,508
• Stated Capacity: 9,508
• House Baseball/Softball Record Attendance (as currently configured): 9,508, multiple (cap)

Polar Park, in Worcester, MA, is the home of the Worcester Red Sox, the Boston Red Sox' Triple-A International League farm team. It was also the Red Sox' 2021 Coronavirus pandemic alternate training site.

At $157 million, it displaced two-year-old Las Vegas Ballpark as the minors' most expensive playpen. Local seltzer distributor Polar Beverage owns naming rights and its chief executive officer joined the WooSox ownership group.

When the Pawtucket Red Sox were sold after long-time owner Ben Mondor died, McCoy Stadium was nearly 75 years old. The new owners tried to get first the city of Providence, RI, and then Pawtucket, RI to build a new ballpark. When neither happened, Worcester invited the club to New England's second-largest city via a postcard campaign. The July 2019 groundbreaking aimed for a 2021 opening, and the pandemic only briefly halted construction.

Polar Park opened, limited by pandemic restrictions, to 2,377; 6,442 attended its first no-limit date; two rehabbing BoSox players drew the house baseball record during its inaugural season, 9,508, as pitcher Chris Sale started and won while second baseman Marwin Gonzalez homered. The WooSox report all sellouts as that figure.

Polar Park also hosts the "Cape Cod Classic", an annual game that pits two Cape Cod League teams against each other.

Although also not in a pro setting, Polar hosted two no-hitters in one day on April 3, 2023. During a high-school triple-header, two Worcester pitchers hurled no-no wins: Worcester Tech's Robert Reidy beat Keefe Tech, 4-0, and Doherty's Cam Early blanked Worcester South, 11-0.

Playing on an inside-baseball joke, Polar's foul poles are both labeled "FAIR POLE" - the joke being that, because a batted ball that hits a foul line (or, therefore, pole) is fair, they should be called the fair lines.

Further Reading

• Neil deMause: "Worcester stadium hits $157m, is now the most expensive minor-league park of all time", Field of Schemes, January 11, 2021. [1]