PawSox Receive Small Business Funds Under PPP Via Federal Stimulus

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

The Pawtucket Red Sox are one of the recipients of federal small business funds under the Payroll Protection Program, GoLocal has confirmed.

The PawSox ownership group is comprised of a group of men who are multi-millionaires and billionaires, including a corporate entity tied to the team's parent company that owns the Boston Red Sox.

The team confirmed in a statement to GoLocal, “The loan facility is being used by minor league teams all over America, and it enables us to avoid furloughs and/or payroll reductions, as is intended by the legislation."

Pawtucket, Worcester, and PPP

This season was supposed to be the final season to be played at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket. The team has received tens of millions in subsidies from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Worcester to move.

The team is presently building a new stadium in Worcester - Polar Park. Construction resumed this week after being delayed due to the coronavirus.

The PawSox declined to disclose how much in federal small business funds they have received.

Jeff Lantz of Minor League Baseball said in a statement, “Nearly all of the eligible Minor League clubs applied for assistance, but that the names of the teams that received assistance is confidential unless a team wants to tell them how much they received. Of our clubs that were NOT eligible, it was usually due to them being Major League affiliate-owned, thus they had more than 500 total employees.”

The minor league baseball teams aren't the only pro teams receiving PPP funds.

"The Lakers applied for and received a loan of about $4.6 million under the stimulus package that Congress passed in March, but the team says it returned the money to the federal government. In a statement Monday, the Lakers said once they 'found out the funds from the program had been depleted, we repaid the loan so that financial support would be directed to those most in need. The Lakers remain completely committed to supporting both our employees and the community,'" reported the LA Times.

The group of owners of the PawSox are worth an estimated $8 to $10 billion, and depending on how you book the value of Fenway Sports Management (a division of the Boston Red Sox’ parent company, Fenway Sports Group) which has an ownership position in the PawSox, the net worth maybe even higher. Note: John Henry’s net worth is reported at $2.6 billion, according to Forbes.

Also, there are two limited partners in FSG, Arthur E. Nicholas and Frank M. Resnek, that have interest in the PawSox.

As of 2017, the ownership group included:

- Bernard Cammarata, the founder and 40-year veteran of TJX. According to a 2013 Boston Business Journal story, just Cammarata’s holding in TJX stock exceeded $137 million.

- William P. Egan, Alta Communications/Marion Equity Partners. Alta was once one of the hottest media venture capital groups; Egan owns (through a family trust) a summer house on Ocean Avenue in Newport that is assessed at over $4 million.

- Habib Gorgi, Nautic Partners. Gorgi manages the firm that now has a reported $3.3 billion under management. He is the only full-time Rhode Island resident.

- J. Terrence Murray -- built Fleet Bank into one of America’s and sold it to Bank of America — at maybe just the right time. He grew up in Woonsocket, but today is reported to be one of two from Rhode Island who belong to America’s most exclusive club - Augusta Country Club.

- Thomas Ryan -- forget the $30 million in stock and salary he posted some years at CVS. Just Ryan’s exit package in 2011 was $185 million according to Forbes - one of the top 10 exit packages paid in business in the past decade in the U.S.

- Paul Salem, the newest member to the team — he is co-founder and Senior Managing Director of Providence Equity Partners. Salem is second in the food chain to his co-founder and CEO Jonathan Nelson. According to Forbes, Nelson is the richest man in Rhode Island. As of June 2017, Forbes ranks Nelson’s wealth at just under $2 billion. The firm has $50 billion under management. Note: As GoLocal first reported, Salem is involved in the PawSox stadium deal, but neither the Governor's office nor the PawSox will disclose his exact economic interest in the deal.

- James Skeffington, Jr. — took control of his father’s interest after his unexpected death in 2015.

- Larry Lucchino, former President of the Boston Red Sox. Player top-level roles with the Washington Redskins, Baltimore Orioles, and San Diego Padres. His specialty is big sports deals and shepherding the development of new stadiums. He success building taxpayer-supported stadiums in both Baltimore and San Diego.

This story was first published: 5/12/20 5:38 PM