Townsend Fire-EMS Department served as the official honor guard for the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Friday. (COURTESY TOWNSEND FIRE DEPT.)
Townsend Fire-EMS at Red Sox game as honor guards Friday
Boston Red Sox
Big Papi, big buds celebrated in Leominster
David Ortiz was the guest star at the ribbon-cutting of the Revolutionary Clinic dispensary in Leominster Tuesday afternoon, along with Mayor Dean Mazzarella and Revolutionary Clinic CEO Mindaugas Maciulis. Ortiz has also been promoting his own brand of marijuana, Papi Cannabis.
Big Papi, big buds celebrated in Leominster
David Ortiz was the guest star at the ribbon-cutting of the Revolutionary Clinic dispensary in Leominster Tuesday afternoon, along with Mayor Dean Mazzarella and Revolutionary Clinic CEO Mindaugas Maciulis. Ortiz has also been promoting his own brand of marijuana, Papi Cannabis.
Commentary: Big Papi can still draw a crowd
LEOMINSTER — Throughout his career as one of the most dominant designated hitters in history, Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz never had a problem bringing a crowd to its feet.
Some seven years into retirement from baseball, Big Papi still knows how to get the masses moving.
Ortiz loyalists turned out in droves on Tuesday afternoon in Leominster as the baseball Hall of Famer made an appearance at Rev Cannabis Outlet for a ribbon cutting celebration alongside mayor Dean Mazzarella. Rev is a distributor of Papi Cannabis, a brand launched a year ago by Ortiz.
And when Ortiz took the stage, it was almost as if he was stepping to the plate with the bases loaded late in a playoff game. Those in attendance jumped and danced as Big Papi took on the role of DJ onstage, merely uttering simple phrases into a microphone to send the crowd into near delirium.
Hundreds of cars lined Pioneer Drive, home of Rev Cannabis Outlet, as fans poured into the parking lot hoping for a handshake, a selfie or an autograph; one man held up his infant daughter asking for Big Papi to scrawl his signature on her. Sure, some were there for what was being offered by the business itself, but the drawing power of Ortiz was evident.
“Thank you for being part of what we’ve got going,” Ortiz said to the gathering masses. “You guys know that I’m a winner. Nobody wants to hang out with a loser. And because we are winners here, we have to come out with the right thing.”
Since his retirement in 2016, Ortiz has been an advocate for cannabis use, touting its calming and healing attributes.
“Cannabis has helped me relax, sleep better, manage stress, and heal physically,” the former slugger said in a press release.
And while his appearance Tuesday was to help promote his products, Ortiz could have successfully sold anything to the throngs of fans in attendance. Just like during his playing days, the joy he expressed was picked up directly by the audience and reflected back.
The charm and charisma that was a major draw during his days at Fenway Park still remain.
Ortiz remained onsite for some time, shaking hands, sharing laughs and signing a few items.
In a great case of coincidence, Mazzarella had to excuse himself from the festivities early for an appearance at Polar Park for the Worcester Red Sox’s “Town Takeover: Leominster” night. The mayor was slated to throw out the first pitch prior to Tuesday’s game.
Local notebook: Big day for Bulldogs, Blue Devils
Not every victory is created equal.
In terms of wins and losses, sure, each contest has a value of just one in either column. But beyond that baseline classification, some wins are much bigger than others.
Whether they come with huge emotional lifts or large implications, they’re meaningful.
And locally, two programs picked up some pretty important victories on Thursday and deserve a proverbial tip of the cap.
First off, the Monty Tech softball team rebounded from a loss to Blackstone Valley Tech by topping the Beavers, 10-6, in the second meeting of the season and in doing so, the Bulldogs captured the Colonial Athletic League regular season championship.
At 5-1 in the league, the Bulldogs edged Blackstone Valley (4-2 CAL) for their first league crown since 2010.
Bridget Divoll picked up another win in the circle and the Bulldog bats provided plenty of support, pounding out 11 hits and reaching double digits in runs. Jessica Mueller (home run) and Jordin Sawyer each drove in three runs in the victory.
The Bulldogs (15-3) open the CMADA Class B tournament on Monday with a game against Oakmont Regional.
Not to be outdone, the Leominster’s girls tennis team had its own monumental win on Thursday, advancing past third-seeded Wachusett Regional in the quarterfinals of the CMADA Class A tournament with a 3-2 victory.
The victory was the first over the Mountaineers in head coach Daryl Robichaud’s 19 years of coaching the Blue Devils, propelling Leominster into the semifinals.
Arielle Kouadio, Kaitlyn Perrault and Caoline Bjornvig all picked up singles victories for the sixth-seeded Blue Devils, who now await both a time and an opponent for the next match in the tournament.
An Oil Can in Leominster
Former Boston Red Sox hurler Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd will make an appearance at the Hall of Fame of Leominster sports card and memorabilia store Saturday afternoon, signing autographs from noon to 2 p.m.
Boyd, who pitched for the Red Sox in nine of his 11 Major League seasons and compiled a 78-77 career record, will sign items free of charge, though the Hall of Fame of Leominster will have cards of the righty starter for $3 each, with all the money collected going to Toys for Tots.
The Hall of Fame of Leominster is located at 21 Sack Boulevard, just outside the Mall at Whitney Field.
Lowell to sell LeLacheur Park to UMass Lowell for $1 million
LOWELL — The City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to sell LeLacheur Park to the UMass Building Authority for $1 million. When complete, the deal, which has been months in the making, will transfer ownership of the stadium to UMass Lowell.
Terms include selling the park “as is … in its existing condition.” If at some point in the next 10 years UMass decides to sell the property, the city can exercise the option to purchase it.
City Manager Tom Golden said the full agreement is available on the city’s website and praised all the partners in the project who worked to make the deal happen.
“Newly appointed UMass Chancellor Julie Chen has been an excellent partner,” Golden said. “President (Marty) Meehan was one of the individuals who helped put this whole deal together.”
He also thanked the councilors for their patience in pursuing the negotiations.
“I’d like to say thank you to all who continued to weigh in to make this a better proposal for the residents in the city of Lowell,” Golden said.
The deal calls for UMass to invest $3 million in the ballpark over the next five years. The goal is to close on the purchase soon, Golden said.
“In the event that we have to move this through the Legislature, time is of the essence and we have to move fairly quickly,” he said.
The deal mirrors the one the city made with UMass in 2009, when it transferred ownership of the Tsongas Arena to the university, which committed to renovating and repairing the facility.
The baseball park, which is located on the banks of the Merrimack River, opened in 1998. It was built through the efforts of then-state Rep. Edward LeLacheur who secured the funding for the ballpark that bears his name.
For decades, the stadium was home to the Lowell Spinners, part of Minor League Baseball’s New York-Penn League, an affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. The Spinners played to sold-out crowds in the nearly 5,000-seat park. It is also home to the UMass Lowell River Hawks baseball team.
The Spinners did not play any games in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That December, Major League Baseball restructured its Minor League Baseball relationship, and the number of minor league teams was reduced from 160 to 120. The Spinners did not make the final cut, and the Red Sox dropped the team as its affiliate.
When they were playing, the Spinners paid the city roughly $180,000 to use the stadium. The team also maintained the field and staffed the facility. All that revenue and support disappeared with the Spinners, leaving the city with mounting maintenance and repair costs.
“We were talking about a $4 (million) to $6 million debt over there,” Councilor Erik Gitschier said before the vote, but after the executive session in which the council discussed “negotiations relative to LeLacheur Baseball Stadium.”
“It’s a facility we simply couldn’t afford,” he said. “This agreement is in the best interests of the city and the taxpayers.”
Councilor Daniel Rourke referenced the long negotiations that ultimately yielded the outcome, and he congratulated Golden and his team for making it happen.
“From where we were 18 months ago, to this deal that we have right now, is a huge victory both for the city and the university,” Rourke said. “It will take care of all the debt we have left on the park. This is a huge benefit to Lowell and taxpayers.”
Councilor Paul Ratha Yem was more succinct, saying that, “As a city, we are not in the business of owning a baseball field.”
For a long time, though, the city was in the business of owning the ballpark, which provided revenue and entertainment for the Greater Lowell community. The councilors expressed hope that UMass could prove to be a more persuasive presence in wooing back professional baseball to the park.
That was the view expressed by U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan. The congresswoman previously organized a Save the Spinners task force, which focused attention on returning professional baseball to LeLacheur Park.
Moments after the council’s vote to authorize the transfer of LeLacheur Park to UMass, her office released a statement that “tonight’s vote by the Council gets us one critical step closer to the long overdue return of professional baseball to the City of Lowell.”
In an interview Wednesday morning, Meehan agreed UMass would have a better chance of bringing a professional baseball team back to LeLacheur Park and said the university has been in ongoing discussions with other leagues and teams. He said he envisions having professional and collegiate baseball coexist at the stadium, along with more public events for area residents to enjoy the park.
“I think both the city and the university felt that it would be better in the university’s hands to invest the resources needed to get the park in better condition,” Meehan said, noting the considerable upgrades required to allow the park to bring in another Red Sox affiliate.
He said the Tsongas Center “demonstrated that we are good at upgrading these facilities.”
“We’ve put over $14 million into the arena, and it’s a first-class facility,” Meehan said. “We envision LeLacheur Park with the same kind of upgrade and investment to make it … a more active facility.”
