Rhode Island
Pawtucket's “Most Expensive” Soccer Stadium Nears Completion
Pawtucket, Rhode Island’s Tidewater Landing soccer stadium is expected to be ready in time for the 2025 season, but not without a heaping helping of controversy.
Plans for the 10,500-seat stadium, home to the minor league soccer team Rhode Island FC, were announced in 2019. However, WPRI reports the project’s price tag “has climbed so much in the years since that it’s now poised to be the most expensive minor league soccer stadium in the country.”
The station reports, “The revelation that taxpayers will pay $132 million over 30 years in order to fund $27 million of construction costs for the Pawtucket soccer stadium is causing sticker shock all over Rhode Island.”
The Rhode Island Current says developers blame inflation, “supply chain slowdowns, and rising interest rates” for the project’s rising costs.
Retail and office space, 500 housing units, parking, and infrastructure improvements were a part of the original design plan.
Pawtucket’s “Most Expensive” Soccer Stadium Nears Completion
Rhode Island FC, part of the United Soccer League, is playing its first season at Beirne Stadium at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island. The team’s permanent home, Tidewater Landing, is located along the banks of the Pawtucket River.
WPRI says the stadium project funding arrangement has drawn sharp criticism from national media sources such as Bloomberg which referred to the cost of the bonds as “eye-popping,” and The Wall Street Journal, which called the stadium project “dubious.”
State officials have defended the project as an investment in the future.
The current season opened at home on March 16, 2024, against New Mexico and concludes at home on October 26, 2024 against Miami.
Here’s Your Chance to Own the Bank: Historic Building in Pawtucket on the Market for $749K
Originally built in 1901 for Providence County Savings Bank, the historic building in Pawtucket has some serious curb appeal on Main Street. Let’s take a look inside.
Gallery Credit: Maddie Levine
First Look: Maven’s Delicatessen to Bring Authentic Jewish Cuisine to Pawtucket
After months of preparation, Maven’s Delicatessen is just about ready to open its doors and offer homemade, authentic Jewish food, right from the owner Jason Sugarman’s recipe book. Maddie got a first look at the new spot in Pawtucket, and it promises a cozy environment with delicious menu items.
Gallery Credit: Maddie Levine