When a baseball fan thinks about the most influential people in the game over the last 40 years (some for better, some for worse), one would naturally think of star players like Barry Bonds, Hideo Nomo, David Ortiz and Cal Ripken, Jr. or the off-field impacts of Bud Selig, Joe Torre, Bill James, Theo Epstein or Billy Bean. Most causal followers of the “National Pastime” are unaware, however, of the urban design and architectural wizardry of Janet Marie Smith and how she has forever changed the game of baseball through her ballpark projects.
Polar Park in Worcester, MA opened to the public on May 11, 2021 before a Covid-limited “capacity” crowd of 2,377 fans with an 8-5 WooSox win over the Syracuse Mets.
Along with another baseball executive legend, Larry Lucchino (currently the President/CEO Emeritus of the Red Sox and Chairman/Principal Owner of the Red Sox Triple A affiliate Worcester Red Sox (aka the WooSox)), Ms. Smith revolutionized the game with both her ground-up plan for Camden Yards in Baltimore and her decade-long modernization of Fenway Park in Boston. Not only did she lead the retro design charge back to the urban core with Camden Yards, but changed the overall way that people look at ballparks forever.
Left: Everyone was filled with smiles during the ribbon cutting of Polar Park on Opening Day on May 11, 2021.
Right: Hall of Famer and Red Sox World Series hero Pedro Martinez greets Janet Marie Smith and Larry Lucchino before Pedro tosses out the First Pitch along with other dignitaries.
In this first of a three part series, I will explore the fantastic new Polar Park design for the WooSox and its role in revitalizing Worcester’s Canal District.
In the second part, I will delve deeper into how Janet Marie Smith’s and Larry Lucchino’s three decade collaboration changed ballpark design throughout the major and minor leagues.
Finally, the third part will focus on Ms. Smith’s $100 million dollar upgrades to the third oldest ballpark in the Majors – Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
These photo essays are based in large part on conversations that I had with both Ms. Smith and Mr. Lucchino, among others from the WooSox, who were all extremely generous with their time. I want to give a special shout-out to Ben Weingarten, Ballpark Design Coordinator for the WooSox, who was patient with my many questions and who might find himself being the next generation’s “Janet Marie Smith”. Additionally, the WooSox team President, Dr. Charles Steinberg (also known as “Dr. Charles”), who has worked with Lucchino and Smith at Baltimore, Boston, San Diego and Los Angeles, who provided me with a slew of anecdotes and facts about the design team and the park itself.
Each ballpark is snowflakesque unique. Given that a ballfield does not follow a specific standard or shape like basketball or American football, a ballpark may be tailored to a particular site, culture, climate, budget, playing style, topography or historical context. Based on my photographic visits to over 500 ballparks, the impact of architect and urban designer Janet Marie Smith (currently, Executive Vice President Planning and Development for the Los Angeles Dodgers) on all new parks since 1992 is clearly evident and cannot be overstated.
Quite simply, she has been an unparalleled legend in the ballpark design world since the early 90’s. Not only has Ms. Smith been involved with some of the most iconic ballpark projects in the last 30 years (Camden Yards, Petco Park, Fenway Park to name a few), but her urban planning background and emphasis has influenced stadium and ballpark development worldwide by stressing the integration of a sports venue within the fabric its urban environment.
Prior to the 1992 unveiling of Oriole Park in Camden Yards in Baltimore, many new stadiums and ballparks were plopped down in isolated lots on the outskirts of cities or suburbs. With Ms. Smith’s influence, almost every stadium since has sought a nexus with its surrounding area, with increasing accessibility to the public beyond just gameday. All of her experience and talents infused the Polar Park (named for Worcester-based company Polar Beverages) design and overall redevelopment of the surrounding Worcester neighborhood.
Left: One can see how Janet Marie Smith’s design for Fenway Park’s Green Monster seats influenced the design of the right field “Worcester Wall” seats at Polar Park.
Right: No detail is too small for Ms. Smith and her design team.
Polar Park in Worcester HAD to be a great ballpark. As is often repeated, New Englanders are a fickle bunch, who cling tightly to tradition. Given the regional nature of the Red Sox fandom, the Red Sox minor league teams have had a heavy footprint in New England – the Triple A Pawtucket Red Sox right next to Providence, RI, the Double A Seadogs in Portland, ME and, until recently, the Single A Spinners in Lowell, MA. Besides Fenway Park, one of the most cherished New England sports venues had been McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, the long-time home of the Pawtucket Red Sox (aka the PawSox).
Left: Edward A. LeLacheur Park, home of the defunct single A Lowell Spinners.
Right: Hadlock Field, home of the double A Portland Seadogs and a replica of Fenway Park’s Green Monster
McCoy was a no frills, yet classic, old park that opened in 1942 and a final capacity of 10,031. Unlike most minor league facilities, it possessed a steeply pitched main grandstand that was somewhat elevated from the field, leading to fantastic sightlines. Among other quirks, the dugout at McCoy was not really “dug out”, but was at grade level and embedded into the grandstand wall. This unusual dugout feature gave fans a unique vantage point and led to an unusual method for requesting autographs. Instead of waiting for players to line up along the grandstand walls during batting practice, young fans would lower balls and autograph books into the dugout via makeshift fishing lines and other creative techniques.
Although antiquated by modern ballpark standards, McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket Rhode Island was beloved by generations of PawSox fans.
Left: McCoy’s elevated grandstand gave fans a top down perspective on the players.
Center: Fans got creative in search of autographs at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, especially with a shot at getting the signature of rehabbing Red Sox stars like Manny Ramirez (far right in dugout photo)
McCoy Stadium even had big-time history – hosting the longest ever professional baseball game of 33 innings on April 18-19, 1981. Despite the historic charm and years of negotiations, neither the cities of Pawtucket (best known as toy company Hasbro’s HQ) or nearby Providence could strike a deal for a modern ballpark to entice the team to stay in Rhode Island. Worcester, New England’s second largest city, however, took that stalemate as an opportunity and lured the team 42 miles northwest (remaining approximately an hour’s drive from Boston’s population base).
Even Janet Marie Smith was a fan of McCoy Stadium. When asked if she felt any pressure given the reverence for McCoy, she responded, “Sure, I love McCoy. I made no bones about that. I think it’s a really charming place, full of wonderful history. There are some architectural features about it that I really love – the steel trusses and the wood ceiling with the grooves. They are building materials that you will never see again. The fact that the roof covered all the fixed seating was kind of an interesting thing.
While I know it’s popular to poo poo all that foul territory, it’s kind of charming to have one or two places left that still have that pitcher friendly feature now that they’re the anomaly and not the norm. I certainly appreciate all the reasons that the team chose to move to Worcester, and what a wonderful opportunity it is for the city of Worcester…being part of an urban revitalization project like this and building on what they’ve done with the Canal District is very fulfilling.” Given all the history and warm feelings towards McCoy, Polar Park needed to be special to win over skeptical Red Sox nation.
Left: McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, RI on July 9, 2021, still awaiting a new user.
Right: McCoy stadium served as a minor league ballpark since 1946.
