Women’s Soccer Team Getting New Stadium?

Christopher Cox

Staff Writer

In the summer of 2023, the city of Boston announced that there would be a private investor, who would rebuild the aging 76-year-old stadium used by Boston Public Schools athletics. The stadium in question is White Stadium, in Franklin Park. The investing group is Boston Unity Soccer Partners LLC, who are the parent company of the new professional women’s soccer team, Boston Legacy FC, according to the Boston Globe.

The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) awarded Boston Unity Soccer Partners LLC expansion rights in September of 2023, after the company secured the ability to rebuild the stadium. Within months, there was a lawsuit filed, which hoped to halt the project.

The plaintiffs of the case are the Emerald Necklace Conservancy and several residents who live near Franklin Park. Their argument is that the project would be a privatization of public land, which was legally mandated to remain public, according to the Athletic. This initial pushback was denied last year.

At the end of March, Superior Court Judge Matthew Nestor, ruled that “the Stadium Parcel is not subject to Article 97,” a state law that protects parklands, as well as ruling against the Plaintiffs on every other count they attempted to raise, according to the Boston Globe. This legally ended the three-day-trial, allowing for the project to proceed forward.

The stadium project in question was originally proposed to cost the city around $50 million; however, this figure has slowly risen to around $100 million according to the Boston Globe. This price increase can be attributed to community feedback about the design of the new stadium and the escalating construction costs.

Regardless of how much it will cost, the city of Boston is only paying for, and rebuilding, half of the stadium. According to the Boston Globe, the city will specifically cover the cost to demolish and rebuild the east grandstand, adding two additional wings, and landscaping around the new stadium.

Additionally, the city has committed to covering the cost of new locker rooms, strength and conditioning spaces, athletic department offices, and a banquet room, as well as building a new eight-lane running track. This means the total cost of this project is around $200 million, double the original estimate, according to the Boston Globe.

Regardless of how much it costs for the renovations, the plan is to convert the 1940s era stadium into a modern 10,000-seat arena for the new team and to have new facilities for the Boston Public Schools athletic programs.

An official from Mayor Wu’s administration said recarding the renovation, “Renovating White Stadium as a home of Boston Public Schools athletics and a community hub at Franklin Park is a major capital project for which the City has found a private partner to cover more than half the costs of construction and carry all the costs to operate and maintain the facility, ensuring that the Stadium never falls into ruin again…” according to the Boston Globe.

Part of the concern of those who are against this project is that it will take away from public access to the park and the students of the Boston Public Schools athletic programs. In response to this concern, Mayor Wu said in a statement, “A renovated White Stadium will be open and used by the Boston Public Schools students, coaches, and community 15 hours a day, more than 345 days a year, according to The Athletic.

Specifically, the professional women’s soccer team would host forty professional games and practices annually. These forty sessions would take up no more than forty days a year, twenty for games and the other twenty for practices, according to the Boston Globe.

Emerald Necklace Conservancy president Karen Mauney-Brodek released a statement after Superior Court Judge Matthew Nestor’s ruling, stating, “…we are deeply disappointed by the judge’s decision…[and] we plan to assess our legal options” according to the Boston Globe. Currently, there has not been any legal follow-up from the Plaintiffs.

Regardless of what side people are on, everyone in Boston agrees that the White Stadium needs to be renovated. The disagreement comes from whether it can be done cheaper and without a private partnership. However, the demolition of White Stadium is already more than halfway completed, and there does not seem to be anyone willing to finance a rebuild of it, other than the city of Boston and Boston Unity Soccer Partners LLC.