In Massachusetts, Steven Foskett Jr. in a front-page piece notes the city of Worcester yesterday threw a "celebration of the pending arrival" of the Triple-A Int'l League Pawtucket Red Sox. The event was a "joint effort between the city and the team" and was billed as a "Grand & Glorious Civic Celebration." Thousands of fans "turned out for the event," which featured Baseball HOFer Pedro Martinez and former MLBer Dwight Evans. PawSox Chair Larry Lucchino "let the crowd know" that MLB "gave the team the official approval" to begin construction of the 10,000-seat "Polar Park" in Worcester (Worcester TELEGRAM & GAZETTE, 9/18).
NOT EXACTLY HELPING: In Boston, Kevin Paul Dupont noted the Senators have "seen their season-ticket base fall to approximately 4,000," and that number will be "challenged even more now" after trading D Erik Karlsson to the Sharks. The Senators have "already masked over some of the upper-bowl seating" at the Canadian Tire Centre (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/16).
PLATINUM ANNIVERSARY: In Michigan, Ansar Khan notes this marks the 20th year that the Red Wings have made the "scenic northern Michigan resort town" of Traverse City and the Centre Ice Arena their home for training camp. Red Wings Exec VP & GM Ken Holland said of Traverse City and Centre Ice, "It's a great part of the world. Great facilities. The rink has good energy. No reason to move after 20 years. Everyone in our organization looks forward to 10 days there" (MLIVE.com, 9/18).
