Boston School Committee approves White Stadium lease agreement

Area residents and park supporters hold opposition rally prior to vote

The Boston School Committee last Wednesday approved unanimously the White Stadium renovation plan, shortly after a group of community members, Franklin Park neighbors and elected officials gathered at Franklin Park to protest the project.

The committee’s 5-0 vote authorized Superintendent Mary Skipper to enter into a lease agreement with project developer Boston Unity Soccer Partners, which would allow the city to move forward with the demolition of the sports arena in the fall.

The proposed overhaul would refurbish the 75-year-old stadium, furnishing it with upgraded amenities as it is prepared to be the home of a professional women’s soccer team that would use the 11,000-acre grounds alongside Boston Public School students.

“White Stadium, as we all know, has been in disrepair for far too long … our student-athletes deserve to have access to a modern multiservice facility and the resources to support them,” Skipper said before the vote. “White Stadium is a key part of the city’s efforts to improve access to athletics for all BPS students.”

The public comments at the Sept. 11 Boston School Committee meeting underscored the divisive nature of the White Stadium plan, which has stirred a months-long controversy. During the meeting, some voiced strong opposition to the project and others endorsed it, while many continued to raise concerns about how the repairs, which include expansion, would affect abutters.

“Our community is being told to accept changes that we didn’t ask for and we don’t want,” said community activist Jean McGuire during the school board meeting. She continued, “Our public land is precious and it needs to be protected for future generations. If this proposal was really about helping Boston’s students, the proponents should donate their money to charity or to partner with the city to invest in a public stadium with no strings attached.”

Supporters held a rally in Franklin Park to protest the proposed White Stadium renovation. PHOTO: Franklin Park Defenders

Shortly before the vote, McGuire, other members of the Franklin Park Defenders group and community supporters held a rally in the park, many holding signs that read “Save Franklin Park, No Private Sports Complex.”

“We all love Franklin Park. We love White Stadium. We want to take care of these things. We want these to be available and accessible to all of us,” said Karen Mauney-Brodek, president of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, at the rally, adding that the stadium can be restored while keeping it “available to the public.” 

Mauney-Brodek echoed a previously shared sentiment that the $50 million the city is set to invest in improving the facilities should be used only for Boston Public School kids and the public, or that the proposed price tag was too high.

During the school board meeting, Carla-Lisa Caliga, one of the Franklin Park Defenders, said the community did not need the other add-ons proposed by the project developer, naming intended features such as the beer garden and jumbotron.

“This is our tax money, and we can do better,” she said. “We can renovate White Stadium for our children and for the community with less money.”

State Rep. Chynah Tyler, who represents the 7th Suffolk District, made an appearance at the rally, siding with community members who are against the public-private partnership between the professional women’s soccer team and the city.

“It is clear that the process taken to get to where we are today is obviously flawed, and it does not include the most important part of the most important elements of the process, which is you all today, the voice of the people,” she said, adding, “We demand that our voices are leading this effort.”

City Councilors Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy stopped by the demonstration, both speaking in favor of the redevelopment but condemning the privatization of White Stadium.

During the school board meeting, those agreeing with the restoration said it would be advantageous for Boston Public School students who needed new and improved facilities.

“We firmly believe that the renovation of the stadium will significantly help the families and the kids and the small businesses that will … get great benefit from that renovation,” said a mother of two sons speaking through an interpreter. “The students and the youth, they’ll be able to use their time wisely … by using this space.”

A student from the Margarita Muñiz Academy also showed up to back the White Stadium project, saying the students needed a new athletic center and “deserved the best [facilities] to enjoy.”

Even among those who were for the revamp, some expressed continued concerns about traffic, parking and noise levels on game days. One community member said, if the plan were to move forward, he worried about what the 30-year lease would mean for the city and asked that those involved in the project keep the community involved.

“What’s really important is that you make the negotiations public,” he said. “They need to be transparent. They need to be registered. They need to be something that we can come back to.”