Polar Park’s vice president of hospitality believes success in his line of work comes from remembering the most important adage in minor league baseball.
“People come here to eat and drink and have a good time; it just so happens that there's a baseball game going on,” Cody Malone told me last week as we walked through Polar Park, joined by Rob Crain, a senior vice president for sales and marketing at the Worcester Red Sox.
In part, the two had spent much of the final week before the team’s first homestand preparing the park’s concessions for Opening Day Tuesday. They just placed the largest beer order in Atlas Distributing Inc.’s history and were expecting the kegs and cans to arrive at the stadium by week’s end.
Unfortunately, I had arrived too early: During this visit to the ballpark, we passed dry, handle-less taps and barren coolers. But, Malone said, the thousands of WooSox fans expected to flood Polar Park this week and next should take heart in the knowledge that no matter where they go in the ballpark, they should never find themselves more than 10 feet away from a place to buy beer.
There have probably been thousands of articles written about Polar Park in the last two years, and no doubt those were all detailed reports. I can say with authority, though, that this column, the definitive guide to all your ballpark beer needs, will end up being the most informative piece you ever read about the home of the WooSox.
I’m not interested in tall boys of Coors Light here – at least not until I need to hydrate in the sixth or seventh inning. Don’t worry, Malone assured me, the 10-feet rule also applies to Worcester breweries like Wormtown and Greater Good, too.
“I have about 85 taps in the ballpark. About half of them are going to be dedicated to craft,” Malone said. “Everywhere you go you can get craft beer, especially local.”
Beginning in right field, you’ll find the best spot to grab a beer in the park: the Atlas Craft Corner. The section can hold about 100 people, all with $8 general admission tickets. You’ll have draft and can options from Greater Good and Wachusett Brewing Co. and perhaps the finest view in the ballpark.
More: Full coverage of WooSox
Harpoon Brewery has its own 12-tap bar atop the Worcester Wall, surely making the brewery’s founder, Worcester’s own Dan Kenary, proud. You can also grab cans of Harpoon and Polar’s hard seltzer collaboration, Arctic Chill, at the bar, dubbed the Harpoon Taps.
To start, Wormtown will have a pop-up beer stand located behind section 15 and 16 on the first base side of the ballpark. Wormtown packaged its lager, Mass Whole, in 16-ounce cans exclusively for sale at Polar Park.
Wormtown gets its own shipping container bar later this summer on Summit Street, just behind the Worcester Wall. The brewery will outfit the container with 12 taps, joining other vendors along the street, which will have a fairground feel during gamedays.
“This will be the party headquarters,” Malone said of Summit Street.
You can even buy beer inside the WooSox Market, which starting next year will be fully autonomous. Malone will have packaged beer for sale in the market, located on the first base side of the concourse level, in June. The cooler will include beer that he would not typically order for the concessions. It’s where I hope the park brings in offerings from the Worcester breweries that do not have sponsorship deals with the team, such as Redemption Rock Brewing Co., 3Cross Fermentations Cooperative and Bay State Brewing Co.
Finally, it’s worth mentioning the Coors Light Homeplate Bar, which will cover all of your domestic beer needs. The largest bar in the ballpark, go there for the 24-ounce cans you can nurse in the later innings.
Beers at Polar Park will cost anywhere from $8 to $11. Most of the craft beers will run you $10 for a 16-ounce can. You can jump up to a 20-ounce souvenir draft cup for a buck more.
As is the case at most games and concerns, there will be a limit of two beers per purchase. Last call is in the seventh inning.
WooSox brass like to say Polar Park has made sure that its concessions represent Worcester, that the ballpark itself “looks, feels and tastes,” like the city, Crain said.
“I'm confident in that,” he added. “I almost take offense to comments that say otherwise. We do have great partners in the larger breweries, but we spent a lot of time, effort and energy painstakingly crafting these local taps lists. We went through every tap on every bar and every row of every reach-in cooler. Our process was that detailed.”
People may have complaints with the ballpark’s ballooning budget or its somewhat underwhelming façade. Those gripes will melt away as soon as they walk in for a game, find a can of Be Hoppy or Pulp Daddy, stop at B.T.’s Smokehouse’s stand for BBQ, and take in the action on the glorious green field.
Without hesitation, Malone, who has spent nearly 20 years in minor league baseball, described Polar Par as the “crown jewel” of his career.
The park does this second city justice, he said.
“Second cities always do the same things well: Craft beer, local chefs, local produce and local music. We wanted the ballpark to represent those four things,” he said. “That's what I love about Worcester.”
May 10, 2021 at 10:35PM
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The Next Draft: A guide to all your Polar Park beer needs - Worcester Mag
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