After months of back and forth, the White Stadium lawsuit goes to trial this week.
The city of Boston and Boston Unity Soccer Partners, the group behind a new National Women’s Soccer League team, announced their plans to work together to renovate White Stadium a year and a half ago. It didn’t take long for pushback to emerge.
The stadium in Franklin Park has long been used for high school sports and community events but currently is in poor condition.
The debate basically boils down to this: Those against the project claim it amounts to privatizing public land. Those for it say it will bring substantial improvements to the stadium while remaining a city property.
Now, with the case headed to court, opponents are hoping that the city will abandon its plans to use White Stadium as a home for a pro team.
Here’s how we got to this point, and what issues may come up in the trial.
Two sides to the argument
Some members of the Franklin Park community have been fighting — for months — the plans proposed by the city of Boston and the new soccer team’s owners.
The city has pitched the project as a win-win. The project, which has received the endorsement of Mayor Michelle Wu, would usher in a host of benefits: It would give a much-needed facelift to the stadium — while splitting the high costs with a partner; will more than double the amount of hours per week the stadium is accessible; and create a hub for Boston Public Schools athletics.
While the initial estimates put the city’s portion of the cost at about $50 million, that price tag’s nearly doubled since as the plan responded to factors like community feedback and construction prices rising.
For the team’s owners, specifically, the proposed plan would establish a unique home pitch for the NWSL team (which is officially changing its name ) that’s set to start play next year.
But questions about everything from the project’s cost to environmental impact to traffic have led some in the surrounding communities to push back against the plan. And while the stadium will still be owned by the city and Boston Public Schools, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, which has spearheaded the opposition to the project, and others claim that this will result in privatization of the space.
Jean McGuire, a plaintiff in the case and a longtime civil rights leader, spoke at a Boston City Council hearing in January.
“The process has been rushed, the proper state reviews haven’t been conducted and community members’ concerns about public access and transportation impacts are being ignored,” she said. “All in a mad rush to demolish White Stadium in order to meet a soccer team’s desired opening date.”
While the opposition to the project has been vocal and organized, supporters of Wu’s plan to renovate the stadium have started to speak out, as well.
Last month, David Shapiro, president of the YMCA of Greater Boston, backed the project at a virtual rally — while specifying that he wants to ensure the city’s promises are upheld. According to the plan, yearly BPS programming hours in the stadium will nearly triple.
“I want to see operating agreements that are ironclad around the usage of BPS sports. I want to understand how we transport kids from all over the city to this facility,” he said. “It’s not that I just like am openly trusting that this will be a panacea: I want to see us focus on that part of it.”
How the case has changed
Last year, a judge denied a request for an injunction and temporary restraining order against the project. In her ruling, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Sarah Weyland Ellis wrote that she was “not persuaded” by the plaintiff’s arguments that the plan would negatively alter White Stadium.
Ellis noted that the renovation would expand potential recreational uses for the stadium and that updates would “likely increase the use and enjoyment of White Stadium and the Stadium Property, a clear benefit to [Boston Public Schools] and the residents of Boston.”
That setback didn’t stop opponents from attempting to pull in Attorney General Andrea Campbell to their cause, an invitation she declined, saying the courts made it clear the city hasn’t violated any state laws.
But while they may not have Campbell on their side, opponents do have the support of mayoral hopeful Josh Kraft, who has spoken out against the project.
Speaking at a rally outside the attorney general’s office last month, Emerald Necklace Conservancy President Karen Mauney-Brodek said she believes that their case is strong.
“It’s become more and more clear as the project has come into fuller light and fruition the scale of the area of that park that is going to be impacted,” she said.
The city says that the entire project is within the current White Stadium parcel boundaries and will add over an acre of new green space.
What to watch for
One argument that’s almost certain to play out in court is the question of whether this project went through the proper legal process.
Opponents claim that there needs to be a review under Article 97 of the state constitution, which encompasses environmental protections and open space.
But the city and team claim that the land White Stadium is located on, even though it’s in Franklin Park, is legally separate from the rest of the park and uniquely managed by the city and that Article 97 doesn’t apply.
Janice Griffith, a law professor at Suffolk University, tells GBH News that ownership makes it a unique legal situation.
“I would say it’s very odd,“ she said. “I’ve not seen anything quite like this.”
In a statement, Boston Unity Soccer Partners said they look forward to the resolution of all legal claims, adding that they feel the plaintiffs’ allegations aren’t supported legally or factually.
