BOSTON — The fate of what to do with White Stadium in Franklin Park begins today in Suffolk Superior Court.
A professional women’s soccer team wants to renovate and move in—but opponents say the price tag has become too large and are now suing.
One thing both sides can agree on is that the stadium is in desperate need of repair.
It was last renovated in the 1980s and it no longer meets certain safety and accessibility requirements. There is a plan to renovate the stadium through a public-private partnership, but the costs have ballooned and opponents of the project say the money isn’t the only reason they are against it.
Opponents are concerned that if a professional women’s soccer team moves in, it will push out student-athletes and other public access to the stadium on the majority of Fridays and Saturdays. However, the city and the private group—Boston Unity Soccer Partners—claim access to the community will actually double because the stadium would be open longer hours.
As part of the rebuilding plan, they would add a new grass field, new restrooms, an eight-lane track, ADA-compliant facilities, and more. The city is set to pay for about half of the project—which initially was around $50 million but now has skyrocketed to about $91 million. Despite that, the mayor is a big supporter of the public-private partnership to fix up the stadium.
“We’ve had a stadium that has been falling apart for decades at this point where there’s no bathroom or water access when the temperature gets lower when the track isn’t up to state standards and so all of our city kids deserve anything that other student in any suburban school district or elsewhere would have, this is how we’re going to get it done and I’m really excited for what will come of it,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
Either way, there has to be a quick resolution. The Boston women’s soccer team—is going to be part of the National Women’s Soccer League and they are planning to play a year from now.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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