WORCESTER — A new video board, a new mascot, new places to sit and a handful of promotions were all part of the Worcester Red Sox announcements that were unveiled Friday as part of WooSox Winter Weekend.
Regardless of the status of Major League Baseball’s work stoppage, Year 2 at Polar Park is on schedule for 2022.
There are new places to sit and more ticket levels to sit in them. If fans are entering via Green Steet, before they get into the ballpark, they’ll see the new Pickett Plaza an outdoor park space that’s now part of the Polar Park campus.
Inside, there have been 34 seats added in front of the right-center field fence as Papi’s Power Alley, in honor of Boston Red Sox newest Hall of Famer David Ortiz. It’s one of the new group seating options that also include the recently-installed Duck Boat which can host a 10-person party. The Triple Decker Garden can host groups of up to 60. It’s on the highest level in right field as Coney Island Hot Dogs and WooTown Brewery have moved to new spots in the park. Fried dough and cotton candy have been added to the food offerings.
Concourse high-top tables and drink rail seats can now be reserved in different spots in the park.
There are new 9-game and 18-game mini-plans that offer some season ticket benefits. April and May tickets, including Opening Day (April 12 vs. Lehigh) go on sale Saturday at 9 a.m.
The Worcester-style diner car - Sherwood’s Diner - is in place and will be in use as the home of the WooSox Foundation. It will host broadcasts as well as meet-and-greet events. It’s next to the Duck Boat the Taste of Worcester concessions behind the outfield seats on Summit Street.
From the beginning, the ownership group has embraced technology. There will be a video board on the Worcester Wall in right field replacing the more traditional scoreboard. The fully automated WooSox Market will be open in 2022 and there will be portable cell phone chargers available to fans in the stands.
The team put an emphasis on being more handicapped-friendly. In addition to more accessible water fountains and bottle refills, there will be wait service available in the accessible seating and enhancements to seats for fans who need them.
Promotions
There will be more promotional nights announced later, but among those announced Friday were:
- Deaf & Hard of Hearing Awareness Night - Players will wear jerseys with “WooSox” written in American Sign Language on April 29.
- Bobblehead nights on Wednesdays - Triston Casas, Rich Gedman and Mike Matheny have already been revealed with more to come.
- Marvel’s Defenders of the Diamond game - On August 7, the Worcester Red Sox will wear Marvel-themed superhero uniforms. On Saturday fans can begin voting on the team website for which Marvel Superhero the team will wear from a list that features: Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Loki, Winter Soldier, Thanos, Black Widow, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Captain America and Captain Marvel.
- School days - Like many minor league teams have, Worcester has scheduled three Wednesday games in April, May and June to be played at 12:15 p.m. to make them conducive to school trips.
- Scout sleepovers on the field - There’s a Girl Scout event this year in addition to five Boys Scout sleepovers.
- More peanut-allergy friendly games
- Mas Wepas! — The team played seven games last year as the Worcester Wepas, a nod to both the Hispanic connections in both Worcester and baseball. This year they’ll play eight.
- Buy-one get one free — Every Tuesday a concession or souvenir item will be designated the “Take-Two Tuesday” item.
- If the team has any promotions involving players on the Boston Red Sox 40-man roster, they wouldn’t be able to hold them or even announce them until the MLB work stoppage was resolved.
WooSox Foundation Initiatives
The team also announced some new initiatives from the WooSox Foundation including:
- The WooSox Foundation Care-A-Van presented by Bank of America
- Woofster’s WonderDogs to recognize rescue dogs
- The WooSox Lunchbox to reward kids who write essays seeking to meet players
- The WooSox Foundation Pi-K (a 3.14 mile race) presented by Table Talk Pies on April 30
- Diamond All-Stars—tributes to the leaders of Worcester’s amateur baseball community
- Recycling initiatives
- A new biliterate mascot - Roberto the Rocket
- A new Black and African-American outreach program
Players Amenities
There will be new heaters in both the dugouts and the bullpens as well as a new batting cage for visitors.
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