PAWTUCKET – The Pawtucket Red Sox were a great example of how a city-specific name did nothing to hold the team back from becoming a Rhode Island institution.
The owners of the new soccer team planned to play at Tidewater Stadium on the Pawtucket riverfront when it opens next year have even more reason than the team they’re replacing to use the stadium’s location as the inspiration for a name.
Located within easy sight of the Slater Mill National Historic Landmark, now a crown jewel of the National Park Service, the stadium is right on the Seekonk River, at the foot of the Blackstone River.
A new survey put out by what is temporarily being called the Rhode Island Pro Soccer club last week asks what Rhode Island is most known for, among other questions, as the owners seek to gain community feedback on a future name and branding effort.
“Stay tuned in the coming weeks and months as we work with you to develop our club’s name, crest, and colors to build a team for all Rhode Island,” states a release. “Take this short survey now to help us get started: www.surveymonkey.com/r/RISoccerSurvey.”
The team is starting with a blank canvas, maintaining Rhode Island Pro Soccer as the temporary name as it seeks feedback on what makes Rhode Island and its people unique.
I’m quite sure the most common answers in response to the survey will be about the ocean, but I contend that the river is where it’s at.
The Tidewater Stadium project is part of something much larger than itself. The riverfront, both on the stadium side and the Apex side, is projected to be a destination for recreation and commerce, critical to the continued revival of downtown Pawtucket. The club name and associated marketing will be of utmost importance in helping to make that happen.
I tweeted the other day that due to the stadium’s proximity to both the Slater Mill and Main Street dams, which to me is the loudest point of the river, the name of this new soccer team should be the Rhode Island River Roar. If we want to get even more local, Pawtucket River Roar works as well. Anyone who’s ever heard the river at the two dams after heavy rains knows exactly what I mean when I speak of how loud it gets.
The roar of the soccer crowd, the crushing might of the roaring and mighty Blackstone, a waterway with the nickname “America’s Hardest Working River,” the all-important roar of the machinery that once drove industrial and labor history in this blue-collar city, the possibilities are endless. That name could pull in Rhode Island in so many ways. Roaring Rhodies anyone?
I actually like the Rhode Island Riptides name that’s been thrown around for some time, but it would feel a little disconnected to highlight the ocean miles away while we’re sitting on the river. The river obviously flows into the ocean eventually, but…
I don’t know whether a name like the one I’ve come up with will even get consideration, but it should. Providence and the beaches have had their due, and it’s time for the Blackstone Valley and the river that runs through it to be recognized for their importance to this little state we so love.
Rhode Island Pro Soccer announced several new social media platforms for Rhode Islanders to follow developments and engage with the club. They are:
• Twitter – @RI_ProSoccer
• Facebook – @RhodeIslandProSoccer
• Instagram – @ri_prosoccer
“This is a small but important step in the development of our club and stadium,” said Brett Johnson, club chairman. “We want this club and stadium to represent Rhode Island and connect with all Rhode Islanders, and we hope to establish that with a content-rich and engaging social and digital media platform.”
The Rhode Island Professional Soccer club is currently preparing for its inaugural season at Tidewater Stadium. Work is already started on the National Grid site along the Seekonk River in Pawtucket, and the soccer-specific venue is scheduled to open in 2023. The stadium is part of a larger mixed-use project that will be one of the largest economic developments in Rhode Island history, say its owners. The project to develop the soccer club, the stadium, and the surrounding real estate is being led by Fortuitous Partners.
Rhode Island Pro Soccer plans to play in the United Soccer League Championship Division. The USL is the largest and fastest-growing professional soccer organization in North America. The Championship Division is sanctioned by the U.S. Soccer Federation as a Division II professional league and includes over 30 clubs across the U.S.
Editor’s note: I generally don’t include my opinion beyond the importance of supporting local journalism or buying goods at local businesses in these pages, and it will continue to be so for obvious journalistic reasons, but I thought it was appropriate to share my thoughts here. It will have no bearing on my future coverage on the choosing of the team name, as the owners are clearly free to do whatever they please. I hope many great ideas are brought forward during the process.