Worcester prepares for Woo Sox home opener

WORCESTER, Mass. — After years of transformation, the city of Worcester is ready to play ball. The Worcester Red Sox will play their first home game at Polar Park on Tuesday, welcoming fans into the stands.

The park will open at noon, festivities will begin at 2 p.m., and first pitch against the Syracuse Mets is at 3:05 p.m.

“We’re really used the unique topography of the site to make this ballpark have a lot of cool vantage points a lot of cool views,” said Dan Rea, VP and GM of the Worcester Red Sox, noting that the park was built on a hill.

“We have our triple decker, we’re calling it in our right field area, which has some cool vantage points. There’s just a number of great spots you can enjoy. You can come here 10 times and see a lot of cool things you wouldn’t have seen in your previous visit.”

In addition to Tuesday’s new page being written for the Woo Sox, Worcester has some baseball history.

In 1963, Harvey Ball, from Worcester, was hired to create a symbol to boost company morale and it took him less than 10 minutes to create a smiley face. He was paid $45, but he never copyrighted that logo. That’s where the Woo Sox get their smiley face logo from.

The heart within the “W” is two-fold. Worcester is known as the heart of the Commonwealth. It’s also where thousands of Valentine’s Day cards were mass-produced by an all-female staff.

The first ever perfect game was thrown in Worcester back in 1880 by J. Lee Richmond, a Brown University student.

Lastly, home plate used to be a square and was angled back against the diamond, but some pitches were called strikes even though they didn’t technically cross the plate. So Worcester’s John Gaffney changed home plate to a pentagon shape.

The ballpark will be a big boost to businesses in Kelley Square in Worcester. Many have come and gone over the years, but the infamous intersection has transformed with the Woo Sox coming to the city. And just like the team is looking forward to the home opener, so are businesses.

Over the weekend, a college game was played to test out the new park -- from the scoreboard to concession stands and Wi-Fi network. Just outside the park, many new businesses have popped up and are embracing their new business partner, the Worcester Red Sox. Banners are hanging in the area, saying Welcome Woo Sox. Many restaurants are promoting opening day events and specials for today’s game.

The only drawback is that because of COVID-19, the ballpark can only open at 25% capacity or a little over 2,300 fans. Some business owners say this could be a good dry run, as they’re worried about parking capacity.

The Woo Sox say there are at least 24 known parking lots or garages available to fans within a half mile walking radius of Polar Park, with more than 7,300 total parking spaces in that area.

There is a parking garage being built next to Polar Park, but it isn’t completed yet.

Cox Media Group