Home of the Longest Game

Main entrance to the renovated McCoy Stadium, May-2010.

The seating bowl, after the renovation, Jul-2000.

Additional bleachers in the outfield only enhance the facility.

Chronological Tour: Stop 5

• Location: Columbus Avenue and Pond Street, Pawtucket, R.I. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 1942 (renovated: 1999)
• Closed: 2020
• Demolished: 2023
• Home team: Pawtucket Slaters, New England League (1946-49); Pawtucket Indians (1966-67), Red Sox (1970-72), Eastern League; Pawtucket Red Sox, International League (1973-2020; perhaps called Rhode Island Reds, 1976)
• Capacity: 10,000

Rating: 3 baseballs

The new left-field cupola at sunset.

The venerable old park received a face lift prior to the 1999 season; the stadium was completely redone, and even the field moved a few feet to allow for 2,998 extra seats. I got back to it in 2000, and as you can see, it’s greatly improved. In any case, it was still the real McCoy.

There were also persistent rumors about the team moving, as the ballpark may have finally outlived its effective usefulness. The nearby state capital city of Providence put in a bid; there were also rumors about Worcester, Mass. One working proposal kept the team in Pawtucket, at a location on the Blackstone River near the historic Slater Mill; however, in August 2018, the team and the City of Worcester signed a memorandum of agreement to move the club upstream (both cities are on the Blackstone). The new stadium opened for the 2021 season.

In November 2022, Pawtucket voters approved the demolition of the stadium in order to build a new high school, which will consolidate two existing schools with aging physical plants.