Stefan Soloviev’s next real estate investment might be a defunct minor league baseball stadium in Rhode Island.
The billionaire real estate scion told The Providence Journal he’s willing to buy and fix up McCoy Stadium, the former home of the Pawtucket Red Sox, the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, WPRI.com reported. There’s just one problem: Pawtucket, R.I., residents already voted to have it demolished in order to build a new high school on the property.
“Right now I’m told I can’t buy the land but the people of Rhode Island have to do some groundwork on a local level if they want this to happen,” Soloviev said.
Soloviev has had connections to the state since he attended the University of Rhode Island, but he discovered the property through his son, Quintin Soloviev, who has paid attention to the Pawtucket Red Sox since before the team moved to Worcester in 2021.
“I was kind of sad like everyone else was to hear about the plans with the stadium to go away and I wanted to document it one last time with my drone,” Quintin Soloviev said during an interview during a local news radio talk show with his dad.
Soloviev said during the same interview he would most likely make the stadium home to an independent team and that he thinks the venture could be profitable. News of Soloviev’s interest comes after the billionaire heir to Sheldon Solow’s real estate empire told a crowd at The Real Deal’s New York City Showcase + Forum that he has no plans to invest further in New York City real estate. He’ll instead focus on his flagship office building at 9 West 57th Street and his application for the city’s first casino.
“I’m not looking to buy any other buildings in New York right now,” he said. “Nine West 57th Street is my priority in New York, [the casino bid at] Freedom Plaza is my priority.”
Unfortunately for him and baseball fans at large, a spokesperson for Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien said a potential sale is “off the table” because the demolition vote is final.
Read more
Politics
New York
Going for the jackpot: A look at the high rollers competing to build NYC casinos
Development
New York
Soloviev bets long-dormant Midtown East site in casino sweepstakes
Grace Voll, a representative for the mayor’s office, said Pawtucket leaders are open to discussions about redevelopment opportunities elsewhere in the city but Soloviev said he had not received a phone call as of last Friday morning.
“He must have been busy, I was busy,” Soloviev said. “We tried a couple of times to reach out, I have not spoken to him. His office reached out to me last night.”
— Harrison Connery