After nearly 90 minutes of debate Wednesday, Jan. 29, city councilors remained deadlocked on a resolution calling for an “immediate pause” on the White Stadium demolition and construction in Roxbury.
The failed resolution, sponsored by City Councilor At-Large Julia Mejia, called for a public release of final plans for stadium parking, transportation, environmental impact, and alternative design before more demolition work happened. Advocates stood outside the meeting in support of the resolution wearing neon orange shirts that read “Keep Franklin Park Public.”
The run-down stadium built inside Franklin Park in 1939 is on the brink of a $200 million renovation financed by a city partnership with Boston’s women’s soccer team. The city says it plans to own the stadium, which will be used for Boston Public Schools (BPS) and leased out to the new BOS Nation Football Club for 20 home games a year. An opponent group of the current renovation, the Franklin Park Defenders, have voiced concerns in community input meetings about how it will affect the high density population near the area but say they are unsatisfied with the public-private partnership.
Mejia said that she was not aware of publicly finalized comprehensive plans for the stadium regarding transportation, parking, supplier diversity, and climate resilience. The resolution she sponsored called for the renovation to pause and review until these final plans were made public.
“Without written commitment and clear plans, there is no way to hold this administration or this body accountable,” Mejia said.
The resolution was approved by six of the 12 councilors including Council President Ruthzee Louijeune. The tie-breaking vote would have been District 9 Councilor Liz Breadon, who was absent.
Meijia’s resolution came the week after the council heard about nine hours of public comments, most of which were against proceeding with the stadium as a public-private partnership.
“At the nine-hour meeting, what was clear was that there were so many unanswered questions and nothing against this administration, but they couldn’t be answered,” said Flynn. “There needed to be more community involvement.”
Councilors brought up several concerns with stadium planning, including the body’s recent authorization of $50 million more dollars from the city budget for the upcoming fiscal year, bringing the taxpayer cost for the project to $100 million. The council has not yet confirmed the upcoming budget.
“What’s important is ensuring residents feel like they’ve been heard and respected, and we’re not there right now,” said Flynn. “Do we want to be a city council that is basically a rubber stamp? Or do we want to ask difficult questions, be fiscally responsible, and pay a political price?
Other council members saw a pause to the renovation as a threat to the long-wanted community wide resource for BPS children now at their fingertips.
“The mayor’s proposal, after years of neglect, will create a stadium that works, that will be a great resource for BPS kids, for the community,” said Weber. “We are a divided community,” he said about the renovation, and added that a lot of people in his constituency support it, along with the Park’s steward, the Franklin Park Coalition.
Weber said that while he knows the plan hasn’t been adjusted to what the project’s opponents may want, it has been updated several times with community input. In response to debate over the large price tag for the city, Weber cited multiple city projects with eye-catching price tags costing tens to hundreds of million: including the recent renovation of Clougherty Pool in Charlestown and the Madison Park Technical High School redesign project.
“If we pause this project, we are left with the possibility that [BOS Nation FC] would go somewhere else,” said Weber. “We would not be able to fund this on our own, and we’d still have a stadium left to decay and not be a resource for our kids.”
At-Large Councilor Henry Santana was raised in Mission Hill and grew up using the stadium’s track while running cross country. He said that he has heard from student ambassadors and from visiting student athletes that they want the renovation. He acknowledged that some planning concerns could be better answered by the administration, but still said the renovation would be an asset to the community.
“No matter what decision you make here, not everyone is going to be happy, but I’m going to stick with the youth, that is my number one priority,” said Santana.
Mejia emphasized that supporting her resolution did not mean opposing the stadium renovation.
“This is about making sure that we, as a city council, are responsible stewards of our taxpayer dollars and making informed decisions with full transparency,” she said.
On Thursday, Feb. 13 at 6pm, the Franklin Park Defenders are hosting a public meeting inviting feedback on their alternative design proposal for White Stadium. The meeting is at the Lena Park Community Center in Dorchester.
