I don't know. Almost anyone who's ever met one of us knows that Rhode Islanders are strange people. I grew up in Smithfield, but have lived in either Providence or Pawtucket since college and now live almost literally on the border, barely on the Pawtucket side. There is a staggering percentage of people who live around here who can see downtown Providence from their living rooms but almost never go there. Certainly the early feedback is almost unanimously against this.
Besides the obvious nostalgia for McCoy, the small-time feel of the PawSox will be difficult to recreate. Just took my son to their Hot Stove event a couple of weeks ago. It was not overwhelming, but it was a neat way to spend a crappy Saturday afternoon: Free hot dogs, pictures w/the Governor's Cup, poke around the clubhouse and check out all the old photos. It was the sort of thing that could be missing in the future.
Obviously, they are not counting on Pawtucket residents only to come to the new park. It should be more accessible from Warwick and Cranston, and that will help. But a shiny new park may not be what everyone wants. I'm barely old enough to remember the RI Auditorium, but my brother was a season-ticket holder for the Reds. We went to their first game at the new Civic Center and he sat down, took a look around and said "This place is too nice. It sucks." Most everyone else agreed. They were gone a few years later.
I don't think the same thing will happen here, but there's still a chance that it will suck, which is all I'm worried about. Hopefully, they do it right. It's going to take a lot of work, but the potential is there for a great park.
Would there be any chance of salvaging McCoy with some sort of very low-level replacement franchise?