Boston, pro soccer team sued over White Stadium redevelopment

Neighbors and park advocates have filed a lawsuit against the city and a professional women’s soccer team planning to restore and use Franklin Park’s White Stadium, stating that such a use would unconstitutionally privatize the land.

Mayor Michelle Wu pushed back on that claim, however, stating that any attempts to paint the redevelopment project as a privatization of White Stadium was “either a misunderstanding or a misrepresentation.”

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Suffolk Superior Court, the plaintiffs also allege that redevelopment plans would largely displace Boston Public School student-athletes and community members who regularly use the park and stadium, and were made hastily by the city and Boston Unity Soccer Partners without public input.

“We have heard from many members of the community who are deeply concerned about the proposal by Boston Unity Soccer Partners to redevelop and privatize White Stadium and 1.5 acres of surrounding public parkland in order to support the unique needs of a profit-driven professional sports team,” Karen Mauney-Brodek, president of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, said on a Wednesday press call.

Mauney-Brodek said the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, a nonprofit park advocacy group joined by 15 city residents in filing the lawsuit, “shares their concerns over the unconstitutional privatization of public land.”

“We support the renovation of White Stadium and Franklin Park, but we do not support the required involvement of a professional sports team that would displace the local community for the next 30 years while privatizing and profiting from this public resource,” she said. “This major redevelopment is being fast-tracked without adequate community input or proper environmental review.”

In filing the lawsuit, Mauney-Brodek said, the plaintiffs are “asking the city to slow down and respect the public process.”

The 22-page court filing lays out a number of grievances with the plan, which, according to the plaintiffs, calls for White Stadium to be reserved exclusively for use by the new professional women’s soccer team for 20 weekend days from April to November, roughly 77% of Saturdays during the warmer months.

The lawsuit also states that the pitch will be reserved as pro soccer practice sessions for 20 Friday evenings, and that Boston Public School football games traditionally held at the stadium will be displaced.

It also alleges several legal violations on the city and state level.

The project, according to the lawsuit, would “illegally transfer the public trust lands” held by the beneficiaries of the White Fund Trust “to private parties, ensuring extensive, exclusive use” of those lands by a private party for the operation of a professional sports team.

The city has “failed to consider any alternatives to the project,” the lawsuit states, “all while rapidly ignoring the terms of the White Fund Trust and the requirements of Article 97,” which requires two-thirds approval from the state Legislature for other uses for land or easements taken or acquired for conservation purposes.

It also lists concerns with how the project was handled in city zoning review.

Mayor Wu pushed back on those claims, which included making a point to dispute assertions of privatization, stating, “To say that this would be privatizing White Stadium is either a misunderstanding or a misrepresentation.”

“It’s true that if this were any other park we couldn’t just build a stadium out of nowhere without any special process for that,” Wu told reporters at an unrelated event on Wednesday. “But this is an existing stadium. It’s been used by and dedicated to Boston Public School student-athletes. It will continue to be used that way so these legal claims are without merit.”

Renovations at the dilapidated park and stadium — where half of the grandstands are burned out from a recent fire — would triple the number of hours the stadium could be used, 90% of which would be dedicated to Boston Public School student-athletes and the community, the mayor said.

According to the lawsuit, Boston Unity will contribute $30 million and the city will put in roughly $50 million.

“I’m really excited about the opportunity this represents, bringing in a pro team, to help invest in and renovate an existing stadium,” Wu said.

Boston Unity Soccer Partners, an all-female ownership group, was the only respondent to the city’s request for proposals for White Stadium and won an expansion bid in September to become the National Women’s Soccer League’s 15th team.

It plans to start playing at the renovated stadium in the spring of 2026. Boston Unity pointed to its efforts to include the community in the restoration process, and emphasized its commitment to diversity and inclusion.

About 95% of the team will be invested by women and 40% by people of color, Boston Globe CEO Linda Pizzuti Henry is one of the investors. Boston Unity has said that construction, which includes adding 1,000 seats to the 10,000-seat stadium, would generate 500 jobs and that 300 jobs will be created permanently.

“Community collaboration is a core value of Boston Unity Soccer Partners because sports teams and stadiums by their very nature are community assets,” Boston Unity said in a statement, adding that it plans to continue that comprehensive engagement process to listen, address concerns and ensure input is reflected.

“Together we will continue this process to realize our shared vision to develop a beautiful facility that positively impacts the neighborhoods around Franklin Park, provides opportunities for Boston Public School student-athletes and greater access for surrounding communities,” the statement said.