Boston Mayor Michelle Wu celebrated a legal victory that will allow the renovation of White Stadium in Franklin Park to move forward.
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Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on Thursday celebrated what she called a "historic" court victory that will allow the renovation of White Stadium to continue.
A judge is allowing the demolition of the stadium to continue so it can be renovated for use by city schoolchildren as well as a new professional women's soccer team.
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"Just to clear here the city of Boston and our kids are getting a professional-grade stadium for half the sticker price where this amazing team is going to be the example of professionals and excellence that our students can look up to," Wu said at a press conference Thursday.
The project has received significant pushback from community members. The Emerald Necklace Conservancy and 20 people had sued in Suffolk Superior Court to stop the stadium's development, but Justice Matthew Nestor found, in a ruling issued Wednesday, that the project didn't violate state law because there isn't strong evidence that the stadium property qualifies as public parkland.
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Wu called the court victory "historic" in a statement, and an official with the soccer team, the recently renamed Boston Legacy FC, said they "are pleased to continue" revitalizing the stadium. The mayor said it will be a win for students to play in a professional stadium, for Franklin Park, which will see significant upgrades, and for the economic development of the city as it brings more jobs to the area.
“I will not apologize for investing nearly $100 million into this community, into Black and brown communities, into our students and into the Boston Public Schools. We deserve this," Wu said.
The project includes the renovation of the stadium and will include updates to the larger park area, including things like new walkways, public bathroom access and a community kitchen project.
The president of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Karen Mauney-Brodek, left open the possibility of appealing the case in a statement sent after the ruling.
"We're deeply disappointed by the judge's decision regarding the applicability of constitutional public land protections to Franklin Park and the land of the George Robert White public trust, and we plan to assess our legal options," she said, adding that such major changes to public land "require a true and fair public process" that Franklin Park didn't get.
Demolition work already started this winter on the 76-year-old, 10,000-seat stadium in Franklin Park, between Roxbury and Jamaica Plain. The city and Boston Unity Soccer Partners, the group behind the team, agreed to a public-private partnership that would split the cost of renovating the stadium for use by both Boston Public Schools and what was previously known as BOS Nation Football Club.
The community members who sued, along with the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, said the project will displace the marginal communities around it. Opponents have also raised concerns over noise and light pollution, litter, tree removal, traffic and parking restrictions.
