This summer's World Cup fan festival will be held on Boston City Hall Plaza, when the seven-acre space will be turned into a showcase and celebration of the world's most popular sport.

Why it matters: An estimated 2 million soccer fans from all over the world will gather near Boston icons like Faneuil Hall, the North End and the Cop Slide for FIFA's official "FanFest" while World Cup matches are played over 20 miles away at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.

Mayor Michelle Wu announced the plaza as the central gathering point for FIFA World Cup festivities Tuesday.

• The fan festival could span 16 days and officials say it's intended as a free public event.

Catch up quick: Seven matches are scheduled at Gillette Stadium.

• City Hall Plaza can hold 20,000–25,000 people.
• The Legislature approved $10 million for World Cup activities, including FanFest.

State of play: FIFA World Cup Boston 2026 president Mike Loynd said more details will be finalized by March.

• Loynd said the festival will include an area to watch simulcasts of the Foxborough and other World Cup matches, as well as a "playground" area where fans can kick soccer balls and try out their skills.
• Specifics on programming, entertainment, food vendors, hours, ticketing structure or daily schedules aren't yet available.

Wu said watch parties are also planned and the city intends to expand its annual block party grant program to support celebrations throughout the city.

What they're saying: City chief of operations Dion Irish said the city has been working on including fans who can't make it to Foxborough.

• That means finding "ways that we can engage our neighborhoods so that everyone is a part of it, whether you come downtown to FanFest or you're home in East Boston," Irish said.

The intrigue: The town of Foxborough is threatening to block FIFA from holding matches at Gillette unless it receives $8 million in public safety funding by mid-March.

• Loynd said he's comfortable that organizers and the town will reach an agreement.
• "We have a meeting in another week with them, select board meeting, where we anticipate almost all of the details being wrapped up," Loynd said.

What's next: The first Gillette match kicks off June 13.

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Massachusetts State Auditor Diana DiZoglio is suing in the state's top court to open lawmakers' books up to inspection.

Why it matters: DiZoglio's legal action, filed yesterday in the Supreme Judicial Court, comes after over a year of struggling with legislative leaders and the Attorney General's office.

• The lawsuit is the first time the dispute between the auditor and the Legislature has gone to the top judicial authorities.

The suit asks justices to compel legislative leaders to comply with a voter-approved law granting the auditor's office authority to inspect the Legislature.

• The law passed on the 2024 ballot with 72% support.
• It has gone unenforced for more than a year as legislative leaders refused to comply, saying the law is unconstitutional.

Between the lines: At a State House press conference, DiZoglio accused Attorney General Andrea Campbell's office of blocking her enforcement efforts.

The other side: Campbell, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, has denied blocking DiZoglio, saying she lacked sufficient information about the audit's scope to proceed.

• DiZoglio said Tuesday she "calling B.S." on Campbell's claims that her office hasn't been forthcoming with information.

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🏠 Mayor Michelle Wu publicly backed the November rent control ballot measure capping annual statewide rent increases at 5% or the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. (The Boston Globe)

🎓 A Harvard faculty committee proposed capping A grades at roughly 20% per course. (The Harvard Crimson)

⚕️ Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Josh Hawley introduced bipartisan legislation to break up large healthcare conglomerates by barring companies like UnitedHealthcare and CVS Health from owning multiple parts of the healthcare supply chain. (CBS News)

👟 Converse is preparing layoffs after sales fell 30% year-over-year to $300 million in December. (BBJ)

🏫 A rift emerged among the development partners behind the stalled "P-3" project in Roxbury, with OnyxGroup Development calling for the team to relinquish the city-owned parcel after Mayor Wu claimed the site for a new Madison Park high school.

• OnyxGroup said the development team is "no longer on the same page." Other partners are still pushing the original mixed-use lab and affordable housing plan.

🏗️ Boston developers acquired the former Providence Journal printing plant for roughly $4.2 million at auction, less than half its original $9 million asking price. (Boston Business Journal)

• Gannett shuttered the printing operation in March 2025, eliminating 136 jobs.

🏘️ Atlanta-based Wood Partners proposed a 234-unit apartment complex at 38 Crafts St. in Newton that would add to a growing residential corridor near the Whole Foods Market.

• If greenlit, the project would be called Alta Newton and would join a neighboring 307-unit development on Crafts Street.

Average babysitting rates rose nearly 5% last year, hitting $26.24 per hour for one child, Alex Fitzpatrick reports from new UrbanSitter data.

• Parents are paying nearly $30/hour on average for two kids, the sitter-finding platform says.

Rates tend to be higher in places with steeper costs of living.

• San Francisco ($29.63/hour for one kid) and Seattle ($27.70/hr) have some of the highest rates in UrbanSitter's report.

Boston is actually below average, at $25.52 for one kid and $27.78 for two.

See the report.