By Adam Swift
Last week, a Suffolk County Superior Judge ruled that the renovations at White Stadium at Franklin Park can continue and that the stadium is not protected as park or conservation land under Article 97 of state land.
The $200 million public-private project between the city and the Boston Unity Soccer Partners group calls for a major renovation of the stadium, which would be the home of Boston’s new team in the National Women’s Soccer League, Boston Legacy FC, beginning in 2026. According to Mayor Michelle Wu, the upgraded stadium would be open for use for the Boston Public Schools and the community more than 90 percent of the time.
But a group made up of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy and about 20 neighbors filed suit against the project, claiming there were a number of negative impacts from building a professional sports stadium in the middle of Franklin Park.
During a press conference at the stadium last Thursday, April 3, Wu, Boston Legacy FC controlling manager Jennifer Epstein, and representatives of BPS athletics celebrated the legal victory.
“In a city of sports champions, this is a historic victory,” Wu said. “A renovated White Stadium will be open and used by BPS students, coaches, and community 15 hours per day, more than 345 days per year. We thank the Superior Court for twice affirming this vital project for our students and community as a year-round facility that will inspire the next generation of Boston students.
“Together, after so many years of broken promises, we will give our young people and all our residents the scale of investment and opportunity that Franklin Park and our city deserve.”
Epstein said with the legal ruling, Boston Legacy FC is pleased to continue the renovation of the stadium along with the city of Boston.
“Boston Public Schools students and the communities around Franklin Park have long deserved the type of generational investment this project delivers,” Epstein said. “We look forward to contributing to a beautiful, modern venue to be enjoyed by everyone in the city and to playing our games in front of the best sports fans in the world.”
Avery Esdaile, the BPS executive director of Athletics, thanked Wu and Boston Superintendent of Schools Mary Skipper for their support for the White Stadium project.
“Knowing that this construction is going on now, we know that we are going to have a home and a space that is going to be able to withstand the weather,” Esdaile said. “We know that we are going to have appropriate spaces for our students to be in, that they will be able to play a soccer game, that they will be able to have a track meet and our kids won’t be out in the weather. These are big things and big movements in terms of what we’ve been trying to accomplish through this process.”
Esdaile said the project is an example of the schools and the city working together to make Boston a place where youth sports is available for everyone.
“White Stadium is going to play a big part in that,” he said. “It’s going to help us in terms of BPS, but it is also going to give a lot of kids their first opportunity to see a professional soccer game, their first opportunity to dream about being a soccer player or going out and running a 100 or a 200 like the students they have seen out there.”
Dr. Jean McGuire, a Roxbury resident and plaintiff in the legal case said that they were disappointed by the trial’s outcome, but not surprised.
“Our community is used to seeing laws meant to protect the public get trampled when the rich and powerful see an opportunity to make money,” said McGuire. “Despite this outcome, we still believe that our community deserves an alternative to an oversized, for-profit sports and entertainment complex in Franklin Park. Losing 145 trees, two acres of green space, two tennis courts, and full use of the field for several months each year is not the price our Boston Public School students should have to pay for working plumbing and high-quality athletic facilities.
“Leasing a new and bigger White Stadium to wealthy private sports investors is not the right plan for our kids or for Franklin Park,” McGuire continued. “This is our park; the public’s park. We pay for it with our taxes, and have forever. Our kids should not have to ask permission to play in a public park.”
Emerald Necklace Conservancy President Karen Mauney-Brodek said their advocacy for Franklin Park and the community is about supporting the community’s kids and the park with a truly public stadium.
“The communities around the park should be central to decision making for our parks, not asked their opinion after decisions are already made,” Mauney-Brodek stated.