Members of Rhode Island's House Finance Committee yesterday "indicated they're still seeking more detailed answers" than the Triple-A Int'l League Pawtucket Red Sox and city have "so far provided" on a proposal to issue $38M worth of bonds for a new $83M PawSox ballpark, according to Kate Bramson of the PROVIDENCE JOURNAL. Rep. Kenneth Mendonca asked if the PawSox had "provided the team’s balance sheet to the state throughout the course of negotiations." Mendonca said that legislators "know the state’s and Pawtucket’s finances, and they want to know the team’s finances so that if they’re asked to vote on a stadium-funding proposal: 'We can say we voted with all the information that we had.'" Under the proposed deal, the team would pay back $33M in "additional bonds to be issued by the Pawtucket Redevelopment Agency." The PawSox have said that they will provide $12M "up front." PawSox Chair Larry Lucchino "stressed the team has proposed paying a higher portion" of overall ballpark costs "than any other AAA or AA ballclub has done over the past decade when helping to build" publicly-owned ballparks. Lucchino "pushed back to Mendonca, saying the proposed stadium financing deal is not a 'legal investment,' although he said he’d agree to provide legislators with a letter from the team’s accountants." While this might not be a legal partnership, Mendonca told Lucchino it is a “financial commitment” by both parties (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, 10/11).
