Red Sox AAA team heading out of Pawtucket

The Boston Red Sox Triple A affiliate, the Pawtucket Red Sox, are leaving Pawtucket, Rhode Island after being purchased by new owners.

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Minor league teams move around a lot more than MLB teams, for obvious reasons, but some have been in one place for so long that it’s a little shocking when they suddenly pack up and leave. That’s the case with Boston’s top Triple A affiliate, the Pawtucket Red Sox. The AAA Sox were bought by an ownership group led by Larry Lucchino, according to a story by the Boston Globe. It wasn’t immediately known where they would be moving, but it’s since been confirmed that they’ll be moving from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, to Providence.

The Sox have been Boston’s top affiliate since 1973 and were a Double A team for some years before that. Pawtucket as a city has had some form of minor league team playing there since the 19th century.

Lucchino is the Boston Red Sox team president and he is listed as one of the principal owners, according to a release sent out by the team. Lucchino said in the release that the major and minor league Red Sox teams have enjoyed a productive relationship, with the Pawtucket team providing great and affordable entertainment for Rhode Island.

The Pawtucket mayor, Donald Grebien, said he had hoped there was a chance for the team to remain in Pawtucket, and when he was presented with the plan that didn’t include his town, he was understandably devastated. Grebien said the new owners told him that they didn’t think it made sense to spend money on the stadium and were thus looking at a destination stadium.

The new owners, according to the Globe, are as follows:

■ Bernard Cammarata, chairman of the board, TJX Companies, Inc.

■ William P. Egan, founder and general partner, Alta Communications and Marion Equity Partners

■ Fenway Sports Management, a sister company of the Boston Red Sox and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fenway Sports Group (FSG)

■ Habib Y. Gorgi, managing director, Nautic Partners LLC

■ J. Terrence Murray, former chairman, president and CEO, Fleet National Bank

■ Arthur E. Nicholas – partner, Boston Red Sox

■ Frank M. Resnek – partner, Boston Red Sox

■ Thomas M. Ryan – former chairman, president and CEO, CVS Caremark

The team’s previous principal owner was Madelaine Mondor, who took over for her husband Ben Mondor in 2010 after his death.

The Boston Red Sox Triple A affiliate, the Pawtucket Red Sox, are leaving Pawtucket, Rhode Island after being purchased by new owners.

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