There’s Lots Wrong with the Current White Stadium Plan
By Sandra Storey / Special to the Gazette
Demolition of 76-year-old White Stadium in Franklin Park—called the gem of Boston’s Emerald Necklace—began the Thursday before the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday long weekend. Work included cutting down dozens of the 147 mature trees scheduled to be removed under a City of Boston/private equity group deal signed in late December. Plans call for the deteriorated BPS’s White Stadium—not in use since the 1990s—to be renovated to host student athletics again. In exchange for funding about half of the capital improvements, it would also be home to a Boston Unity Soccer Partners (BUSP) team owned by a private equity LLC as part of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
The proposal to remake the City-owned facility, officially named George Robert White Schoolboy Stadium on the southeastern side of Jamaica Plain, was unveiled in summer, 2023 after a request for proposals was issued by the City. It’s been controversial ever since.
A lawsuit filed against the public/private sports stadium proposal by a group of local opponents calling themselves Franklin Park Defenders (FPD) and The Emerald Necklace Conservancy (ENC) is scheduled for trial on March 18. Backed by Mayor Michelle Wu, the project has been the focus of lots of community meetings and hearings, and it’s gotten government agencies’ and some community residents’ approvals. “White Stadium is a generational opportunity,” Wu said in a lease agreement press release, “to anchor citywide youth sports, revitalize community programming, and bolster our beloved, historic Franklin Park, all while creating a home for the City of Champions’ [one of several Boston nicknames] newest professional team.” But many people in the area are not thrilled and for good reasons. Opponents of the public/private project have formed the Franklin Park Defenders (FPD).
Stonybrook resident Allan Ihrer, a member of FPD, called the plans “a raw deal” in an interview on Feb. 22. When I asked for whom, he paused and said, “Ultimately for the students.”
A Boston City Council vote on Jan. 29 was tied 6 to 6 on asking for a pause on the construction. Josh Kraft, who recently announced he is running for mayor against Wu, has said he thinks the project should be paused and attended a demonstration saying that.
Plans call for the stadium to be open for casual community use 15 hours a day, including weekends (when not reserved for an event), which is more than it is now, according to a lease agreement signed two days before Christmas last year. BUSP use will be limited to no more than 20 games a year and one team practice before every game. Their games must begin no later than 8:30 p.m., and they must clean up within three hours after the game is over.
BPS football games and practices used to take place at White Stadium, but they would not under the current plan, because soccer and football seasons overlap. Professional soccer gets dibs.
Much of the maintenance of the field and the stadium will be done by BUSP. Peripheral building uses at the facility will include lobbies, administrative offices, strength and conditioning space, locker rooms, concession rooms, restrooms, a bike room, in addition to two grandstands, a BPS sports medicine unit, basketball courts, etc. Construction costs for those will be divided between the two, depending on use.
BUSP will plant hundreds of saplings to “replace” the mature trees being removed. The agreement also says a White Stadium Neighborhood Council will be created to advise the City, BPS, BUSP and the Parks Department on public programming and give feedback on stadium usage. Opponents’ lawsuit’s goal is “permanently protecting public open space for future generations,” ENC President Karen Mauney-Brodek said in a written statement addressed “Dear Parks Advocate.” She went on to say that ENC will argue that the “new pro-soccer stadium and entertainment complex violates Massachusetts constitutional protections against the privatization of public land.” Maundy wrote that by demolishing part of the stadium and clearing acres of trees on the Friday before a holiday weekend and continuing a month before the NEC/DFP trial date, the City and the team were “showing their disregard for the community.” Taking significant actions on significant projects around holidays, as occurred with the lease agreement and demolition start, is sometimes called a “holiday surprise” or similar terms in journalism and politics. They imply that the party(ies) taking action prefer to not get a lot of immediate public attention. Construction began quickly, as did the public process, because the whole renovation is on a strict timeline. BUSP wants a functioning stadium by March 2026. Originally, the proposal called for the City to pay $50 million and BUSP the rest for renovations. In December 2024, it was announced that cost estimates for the project had gone up, and the City would have to pay double, or about $100 million. BUSP agreed to pay the remainder to add up to a $200 million total cost. No one is guaranteeing costs won’t go up again. Boston taxpayers will have to pay the interest on money it borrows for the project, as well. BUSP will pay monthly rent for 10 years.
Meanwhile, the ENC released an alternate use and design concept, complete with drawings, that would renovate White Stadium only for BPS for a fraction of the $100+ million price the City would pay as partner to BUSP. ENC and FPD have both said they recognize there could be other proposals for renovation just for the BPS that would be less expensive than partnering with a professional sports team.
Many have suggested that BUSP consider sharing the Revolution men’s soccer team at a new stadium planned in Everett, but BUSP rejected the idea because they thought it would minimize the women’s team. White Stadium seating plans offer a vivid illustration of the public/private contrast. Altogether there would be about 11,000 seats for the professional soccer fans up high in the grandstands, only 1,200 of them would be for Boston student athletics fans. Many seats that offer views of the soccer field will get rolled out for pro soccer, blocking the view of the track. For student track and field events, the mobile seats will be pulled back.
Seats for students’ fans will have no cover from the sun. All seats will be 19” wide except for those in the 286 private suites for soccer fans. They will be 24” wide.
Transportation and parking plans for the 11,000 or so people expected to attend BUSP games were developed during the community process, according to the press release about the lease agreement. The optimistic solutions include: 1) free electric shuttles for ticket holders from Orange and Red Line MBTA stations and “satellite parking lots;” 2) a new Bluebikes station with secure bike parking and a bike valet service; 3) a resident parking system near White Stadium and an app-based parking system for non-game visitors to Franklin Park. 4) funding of parking enforcement and oversight by BUSP.
This is assuming that the professional women’s soccer fans will be willing to take some time to get there and get home, and that nearby neighborhoods won’t get over-run with visitors’ cars. Maybe it’s even dreaming. City and BUSP agreed to “create an open dialogue” on transportation and parking with the community, including through the new Neighborhood Council.
Linda Henry announced on Feb. 21 that she was leaving the investment group of BUSP, it was reported by several media outlets last weekend. The co-owner and CEO of Boston Globe Media Partners, Henry was said to have written online that she gave notice in December. She did not give a reason for her exit.
While everyone is talking about White Stadium, it could have a different name or be combined with a new one if this deal goes through, and BUSP will probably want naming rights.
I’d say it’s a clear thumbs down for this proposal and a cheer for the City of Boston getting the stadium fixed up for the school kids. How about some public fundraising to help pay for that?