Superior Court finds city’s plan to lease White Stadium to pro soccer team lawful

Yawu Miller

Yawu Miller is the former senior editor of the Bay State Banner. He has written for the Banner since 1988.... VIEW BIO

A Superior Court judge ruled last Wednesday that the city’s plan to lease White Stadium to a professional soccer team is not in violation of state law, clearing the way for the planned $200 million project to move forward.

While plaintiffs in the case, members of the Franklin Park Defenders and the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, argued that state law prohibits the privatization of public park land without the approval of the Massachusetts Legislature, Judge Matthew Nestor agreed with the city’s contention that the parcel of land inside of Franklin Park on which White Stadium sits is property of the Boston Public Schools, and therefore, not park land.

“Despite this outcome, we still believe that our community deserves an alternative to an oversized, for-profit sports and entertainment complex in Franklin Park,” said plaintiff Jean McGuire in a statement sent to news media. “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.”

Under the city’s agreement with Boston Unity Soccer Partners (BUSP), a professional women’s soccer team will lease the stadium, using the renovated west stand for locker rooms, offices and other uses. The team is expected to host 20 games a year during the season, which lasts from late March to early November.

Mayor Michelle Wu and other officials held a press conference announcing the recent ruling by a Suffolk County superior court judge regarding the White Stadium renovation. PHOTO: MIKE MEJIA/MAYOR’S OFFICE

Opponents say the city’s plan to ban parking on game days, as well as turn over parking in the park to BUSP will preclude other regularly scheduled events from taking place, effectively privatizing the city’s largest public park. While the city’s renovation plan calls for the construction of a new east grandstand that will house facilities for Boston Public School children, their use of the stadium will be subject to the team’s schedule. Additionally, football games, which have been held in White Stadium since construction was completed in 1949, will be barred from the stadium during the soccer season, which overlaps with the football season.

Supporters of the project say the new locker rooms and renovated stadium will benefit Boston Public School students.

“Supporters of the redevelopment of White Stadium, a Boston Public School facility building, are thrilled by today’s court decision, which paves the way for a long-overdue investment in BPS students, coaches, and the wider Franklin Park community,” read a statement from the group, Grassroots White Stadium Supporters. “White Stadium should once again be a jewel of our city — a space that welcomes student-athletes, families and neighbors from all backgrounds.”

BPS students will be able to use the refurbished field for soccer as well as a newly constructed track on days when the women’s team is not using the stadium.

The city and BUSP are planning to split the estimated $200 million cost of demolishing and rebuilding the stadium.

Members of the Franklin Park Defenders, which include 27 neighborhood associations from the areas around the park, say the planned soccer games will displace day-to-day use of the park, as well as regularly scheduled large events such as the Boston Area Music Soul Festival.

“Ours is a neighborhood without many backyards or playgrounds, and Franklin Park is the place where parents drive up with the kids on a hot summer Saturday, for a spontaneous trip to El Parquesito, to the tennis courts on the Playstead, or to a pick-up game of basketball,” said Marti Glynn, president of the Hancock Street Civic Association in Dorchester. “Families bring chairs and picnic and make a day of it, staying into the evening until the day cools down. This park is our backyard, and after a long work week, we deserve to enjoy it. That will be impossible if a professional soccer team is playing at White Stadium.”

This article first appeared on The Flipside.