How a soccer stadium became the first flashpoint in Boston's race for mayor
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
The redevelopment of Franklin Park's White Stadium into a home for professional soccer has emerged as the first major battleground in this year's mayoral race between Michelle Wu and Josh Kraft.
Why it matters: The stadium controversy conveys some of the broad themes at the core of the Wu vs. Kraft race: community input in decision-making, fiscal responsibility, the role of big business and how the incumbent mayor handles it all.
- In painting Wu as out of touch with the voters who put her in office, Kraft, the son of a billionaire and a recent transplant to the city, is trying to flip the script and align himself with everyday Bostonians.
Catch up quick: Partial demolition began last month on the 1949 stadium to make way for a $200 million transformation from dilapidated cement into a facility shared by a new professional women's soccer team and Boston Public Schools athletics.
- Wu backs the plan for the city to contribute about $100 million to the project in partnership with Boston Unity Soccer Partners, the investment group behind the new pro team.
- Kraft wants an immediate halt to the project until at least a March 18 court challenge.
Friction point: Community groups like the Emerald Necklace Conservancy and Franklin Park Defenders have been ferocious in opposing the revamp, questioning the cost, traffic and the loss of a public asset to a private interest.
- Groups supporting the plan say the upgraded facility will boost BPS sports in the long term. The city expects 90% of stadium hours to be reserved for school and community use.
The latest: The Boston Herald reported Tuesday that public records show discussions between the team and Wu's administration started in September 2022, seven months before the city solicited proposals for what to do with White Stadium.
- That's way before Boston Unity's eventual selection as the only bidder.
- Expect Kraft to characterize the secret early negotiations as part of Wu's top-down way of running City Hall.
Of note: Kraft's family is simultaneously negotiating with the Wu administration over their proposed new men's soccer stadium in Everett.
The bottom line: If the topics Emerson College's polling outfit has chosen to ask voters about is any indication, the stadium issue will be a big one, alongside immigration and bike lanes.