June 30--The Red Sox' proposed new ballpark would pump an extra $204 million into the state's economy each year and create about 8,000 temporary and full-time jobs, according to an economic impact study 
released today by business and tourism officials. 

The report on the $550 million proposal was released as Sox CEO John 
Harrington and General Manager Dan Duquette huddled with members of a legislative working group in top-secret meetings at the State House.  And 
it came on the heels of a scathing Red Sox critique of Save Fenway Park's 
plan to renovate the existing stadium. 

At an afternoon press conference at the Hampshire House on Beacon Street, Thomas Kershaw, chairman of the board of the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the 87-year-old Fenway Park is already one of Boston's most popular attractions and one of the region's most valued institutions. 

"But beyond the contribution which the Red Sox make to the quality of life 
in our community, they are also an important part of our economy and the 
new ballpark they have proposed will have important economic impacts," 
Kershaw said. 

The Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Greater Boston Chamber of 
Commerce commissioned the report, which was conducted by Chicago-based C.H. Johnson Consulting, the same firm that analyzed the economic impacts of the new Boston convention center. 

The Red Sox have estimated that the addition of more than 10,000 seats at a new ballpark would boost annual attendance by about one million people. 
According to the report released today, the total spending generated by the 
ballpark would increase from the current $298.2 million a year to $502.5 
million with a new park.  "We believe the total economic impacts of the 
proposed ballpark are both real and significant," said Boston Chamber of 
Commerce president Paul Guzzi. 

Out-of-state visitors are expected to account for about 35 percent of the
new spending, the same proportion as with the current ballpark.  The report found that money flowing into Massachusetts from out of state would jump to $185.6 million with a new park, from the current $120.1 million. 

Currently, the New England Aquarium is the number one attraction for 
out-of-state visitors, said Patrick Moscaritolo, president of the Greater 
Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau.  With a new ballpark, the Red Sox would shoot up to number one, he said. 

"It's a grand-slam," Moscaritolo said.  "I think it's good news for the 
decision-makers who have to look at this and say - investing in the 
infrastructure, is there a payback?"  Taxpayers and state lawmakers are 
waiting for the Sox to estimate how much public aid is needed for a new park. 

The influx of out-of-state visitors is subject to a "novelty effect," said 
Charlie Johnson, president of the firm that conducted the study. 
Out-of-state attendance at the Baltimore Orioles' Camden Yards, for 
instance, shot up to 46 percent when the park opened, but has leveled off 
at about 35 percent, he said.  The report "anticipates good years, bad 
years and mediocre years," he said. 

The prospect of thousands of new jobs, especially in the construction 
industry, has labor leaders on board with the new stadium proposal.  The 
report found that the number of full-time equivalent jobs would jump from 
4,132 at the existing park, to 7,217 with a new stadium. 

In addition, the two-and-a-half year construction project would generate an
estimated 4,769 full-time equivalent positions, with total one-time spending of $491.6 million, the report found. 

Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Robert Haynes said, "We're talking 7,000 jobs.  It's going to have a significant impact on net employment here in Massachusetts.  That's important to provide opportunities for working 
families.  We couldn't be happier with the process up to this point." 

The analysis does not include tax revenues, which are subject to too many 
assumptions and political policy decisions to lend themselves to solid 
projections, Johnson said.  "We said, leave that to the elected officials 
and committees of the Legislature to decide." 

He added that the report is based only on the $350 million the Red Sox plan to contribute to the $550 million proposal.  The report does not include projections based on the roughly $200 million in public money the team is 
said to be seeking, nor does it take into account any ancillary development 
that might arise around a new park. 

The Sox have not yet come forward with a financing plan for the new stadium or a legislative proposal.  Guzzi said he's not troubled yet, and that he expects to see numbers from the team in the "next two, four, six weeks." 
But he added, "It (the financing plan) must come forward fairly quickly, to 
be perfectly truthful, if it's going to be enacted this year." 
 

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