A Tour Of Polar Park, The Home Of The Worcester Red Sox
WORCESTER (CBS) -- It's beginning to look a lot like baseball in Worcester. The finishing touches are being put on Polar Park, the home of the new Worcester Red Sox.
The lush home of Boston's Triple-A affiliate -- nicknamed the WooSox -- will offer an extremely luxurious minor league experience to baseball fans. WBZ-TV's Dan Roche got a special tour of the new ballyard with WooSox president Dr. Charles Steinberg, and got an inside look at several of the ballpark's special features.
It's a mirror image of Fenway Park, with a low wall in left field that slowly rises to a giant wall -- the Worcester Wall -- in right. It's not just to emulate Fenway Park, either, as it's a 22-foot high retaining wall since there's a 30-foot drop to Summit Street behind the barrier.
And yes, there are seats atop that mini-Monster. But while Fenway Park and its giant wall are famously green, Polar Park is a different hue. Steinberg said they listened to Worcester fans when designing the park.
"'We don't want a green ballpark, we want a blue ballpark -- it's Worcester,'" Dr. Charles said with a chuckle.
That blue color is just one of the many features that ties the park to Worcester. The team's mascot is Smiley Ball, as Worcester is the birthplace of the Smiley Face. Those will be featured throughout the park.
But the attention to detail goes far beyond that yellow smiling face. There is a cast-iron Worcester Worcesters logo on seats at the end of rows, commemorating the 1880 National League Club.
The ballyard also offers some beautiful sightlines throughout, and fans can circumnavigate the whole park.
"The ability to take a walk around the whole ballpark without losing connection to the game is a key element," said Steinberg.
Even the park's capacity is a nod to Worcester, as it will seat 9,508 fans. The area code in Worcester and Central Mass is 508.
But the best feature is how close it is to the train tracks, which are just beyond left field. It opens up the possibility that a long ball could take a trip well outside of Worcester.
"We know that if you hit the ball 502 feet, like Ted Williams did, it's way past the train," said Steinberg. "So a good 400-something bomb to left field may end up in a box car and end up in Chicago."
Opening Day at Polar Park is set for May 11, with first pitch set for 3:05 p.m.
