Getting to the Krafts' planned Everett soccer stadium
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As lawmakers consider allowing the New England Revolution to build a new soccer stadium in Everett, across the Mystic River from Charlestown, one key issue is vexing officials: how to get 25,000 fans in and out of a congested area.
Why it matters: To get to a stadium along the Mystic via the MBTA, soccer fans and concert-goers would have to cross the Alford Street bridge that connects Everett to Sullivan Square in Charlestown.
What's new: Many of the concerns aired by City of Boston officials at a State House hearing this week were about transportation and the stadium's impact on neighboring Charlestown.
- The Kraft Group, owners of the Revolution, want to build the stadium with no more than 75 parking spots and plan to rely heavily on the MBTA to get fans to the 43-acre site.
- Extending the Silver Line and Commuter Rail to serve the stadium is also being considered.
What they're saying: "If there's going to be a new stadium there, then there really does need to be some thinking done," Boston Mayor Michelle Wu's planning director Arthur Jemison said after he testified before the legislative panel.
- Jemison said he's confident that all parties can sit down and come up with a solution for moving soccer crowds, but that Boston City Hall and the Kraft Group have not yet had substantive conversations.
The intrigue: Those conversations, if they come, could be awkward if Joshua Kraft, son of Patriots and Revolution owner Robert Kraft, is considering a run for Wu's seat next year.
What's next: The Legislature needs to rewrite state zoning law to accommodate the stadium. In that bill, lawmakers could include mandates about transit improvements, revenue sharing for Everett, Boston and Somerville or other compromises to smooth out the project.