Somehow, the “Worcester Red Claws” just doesn’t roll off the tongue.
Still, if city councilor Sean Rose is successful with the motion he introduced — passed by the Worcester City Council — to poach the Portland Red Claws from Maine, they may have to think twice about the name, as the city is more than 20 miles from the sea.
Much emphasis must be placed on “if”, though.
The city manager of Portland, John Jennings (formerly the general manager of the Red Claws) doesn’t plan to take the threat to move the Red Claws idly.
“Having the Red Claws in Portland is incredibly important to the city of Portland,” he said via Boston.com’s Nik DeCosta-Klipa.
As part of the team responsible for bringing the team to Maine in the first place, it’s probably safe to say Jennings has the inside track given his history with the organization. Further, the franchise is locked into its current lease in Portland (in Maine) until 2024 with an option to extend until 2029.
The budding competition to host the Red Claws was sparked by the Boston Celtics’ recent move to purchase their NBA G-League affiliate outright this summer. While the move would shave as much as half of the roughly two-hour travel time in a move we have seen other franchises make on gaining ownership over G-League affiliates, for now, the motion filed by Worcester city councilor Rose seems largely symbolic.
“I just want to extend that olive branch if there’s ever any potential down the road,” he noted.
Still, that won’t stop Portland’s challengers from trying.
Said Worcester city manager Edward Augustus: “I think it’s a great order … I think it’s a great idea. We certainly will make sure that the Celtics organization knows that Worcester would be very excited to talk about the possibility of [the Red Claws] making Worcester their home.”
Jennings, who has also worked with Edwards in Washington D.C. as part of Representative Jim McGovern’s staff, has thus far taken the high road: “I know Ed to be an incredibly honorable man who wouldn’t try to steal a sports franchise from another city,” said the former Red Claws chief. “I greatly respect Worcester … I would never ever try to do the same to them. I know our city council wouldn’t, either.”
