Boston, MA

Flynn: Nickerson Field would make great soccer team site

Published

2 days ago

January 5, 2025

Flynn: Nickerson Field would make great soccer team site

With a newly signed lease agreement between the City of Boston and Boston Unity Soccer Partners, I am calling for the city and BOS Nation FC to instead explore running their operations out of Nickerson Field at Boston University. This is an ideal location for a professional women’s soccer team due to a large capacity of nearly 10,000 seats, its proximity to the Green Line train and local restaurants and establishments, while already having the necessary infrastructure and a potential fan base in place.

With a potential partnership with Boston University for use of Nickerson Field, the team could save nearly $100 million that could be used toward a rental agreement with the university and helping to fund the MBTA, while the City of Boston could save approximately $70 million on a White Stadium proposal that focuses solely on student athletes and residents.

Despite considerable community opposition, as well as projected costs jumping from $50 million to now $91 million so far for the city, and approximately $182 million for the project overall – the city has moved forward and signed the lease for White Stadium. These fiscal issues are in addition to previous concerns highlighted by neighbors, civic organizations and I – including lack of a thorough community process, the use of public land for private organizations, and now the practicality of two professional soccer stadiums in close proximity with the New England Revolution proposal in Everett. All of these issues could potentially be resolved if White Stadium was renovated solely for student athletes instead, and Boston Unity Soccer Partners utilized Nickerson Field – a field that has already been approved by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).

Prior to BOS Nation FC, Boston’s professional soccer team was the Boston Breakers. The original Breakers played from 2009 to 2012, when the league they played in folded. The Breakers then joined the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and played from 2013-2017, and also folded shortly thereafter.

It is important that the city supports women’s professional sports and a new professional soccer team. As such, Nickerson Field would provide nearly 10,000 seats, and a state-of-the-art field that stands as one of only 10 artificial fields in the United States that has a FIFA 2-Star certification.

Nickerson Field’s proximity to the Green Line will allow fans to easily access the stadium, reduce automobile traffic at the proposed site, and save on our carbon footprint from congestion. The Field is also located in Allston, where there are ample local businesses, restaurants, bars, and retail stores that could support spectators, bolster those businesses, and increase revenue for the city. Allston is also where many of our young people and students live, especially international students, who may also look forward to the prospect of having a women’s soccer team in Boston. The tens of thousands of students in the area could provide additional support for their fan base.

At the same time, while the city debated a property tax shift for the better part of last year and did not cut our budget – potentially investing over $100 million in a stadium renovation and creating a successful venture carries significant risks. Reports estimate the cost to renovate White Stadium for the sole purpose of high school and residential use is $20 million. Boston Public School (BPS) student athletes deserve to have a stadium that can be used year round, especially during warmer months and weekends that would be impacted if shared with a professional soccer team. If a similar renovation was completed, that alone would save the City of Boston approximately $70 million and provide Boston with a dedicated use of its stadium – a win for the taxpayers and Boston Public School students.

While we welcome the return of a professional women’s soccer team to Boston, it is critical that we acknowledge the risk of investing almost $100 million in White Stadium for a private-public partnership that was intended for the residents of Boston. Nickerson Field is a natural fit with the existing field and capacity for a professional team, accessibility for fans, and local establishments in close proximity. We need to do our due diligence on available options like this before we risk potentially $100 million or more of taxpayer funds.

Ed Flynn is a Boston City Councilor representing District 2

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Boston, MA

Red Sox Are ‘Clear Front-Runners’ For $60 Million All-Star, Per MLB Insider

Published

6 hours ago

January 6, 2025

Press Room

Red Sox Are ‘Clear Front-Runners’ For Million All-Star, Per MLB Insider

The Boston Red Sox have made some strong moves this winter, but they have still yet to flex whatever spending power they possess these days.

Trading for Garrett Crochet could be the most impactful move any team makes this winter, and the Red Sox deserve a pat on the back for that. But the fact remains that they’ve yet to commit to any free agent for more than two years, or more than $21.05 million.

There are plenty of ways to make an impact signing, and the bullpen is one area for Boston to consider. Relief pitching woes cost the Red Sox double-digit wins after the All-Star break this past season, which kept them out of the playoffs.

Tanner Scott, a 2024 All-Star who finished the season with a 1.75 ERA, is the top reliever available on the market. And because the Red Sox are still the Red Sox, and because they don’t have a clear-cut closer, shouldn’t they be expected to go hard in their pursuit of Scott?

Such is the view of The Athletic insider Jim Bowden, who installed the Red Sox as the favorites to land Scott in a free-agency predictions column on Monday.

“The Red Sox are the clear front-runners for Scott,” Bowden wrote. “Their chief baseball officer, Craig Breslow, was a left-handed reliever in his playing days and seems obsessed with corralling lefty pitchers: He’s already signed three of them in free agency… and acquired two more via trades.”

“Red Sox manager Alex Cora prefers a single closer and Scott is the best one available.”

Scott, 30, has a 2.04 ERA since the start of the 2023 season, when he seemed to get some of his early-career control problems out of the way. He has struck out 188 batters in 150 innings in that time frame.

Bowden projected Scott for a four-year, $60 million contract earlier this winter. Later, it was reported that the lefty is looking for closer to $80 million, so perhaps Boston is waiting to see if the divide can be bridged.

It’s wise to look for friendly deals, but the Red Sox have done too much penny-pinching in recent years. If they think Scott is the guy to take them over the top, they have to do what it takes to get him in a Boston uniform.

More MLB: Red Sox Predicted To Land Nolan Arenado And $15M For Top Prospect In Massive Trade

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Boston, MA

Man barricaded in home in Hyde Park

Published

14 hours ago

January 6, 2025

Press Room

A man barricaded himself in a home early Monday morning in the Hyde Park section of Boston, prompting a large response by the city’s police department, a police spokesperson has confirmed.

The incident began around 3:30 a.m. Monday at a home on Hopewell Road. Boston police said that the suspect fired a round at some point during the incident.

The man is the only person in the home, according to police.

Community members are being urged to stay away from the area as the situation remains ongoing.

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Boston, MA

‘Absolutely looked real’: Text scam about unpaid parking ticket saturates Boston area codes

Published

21 hours ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

‘Absolutely looked real’: Text scam about unpaid parking ticket saturates Boston area codes

Boston Police are issuing an alert regarding a text message scam about an ‘unpaid parking invoice’ that’s been saturating Boston area codes since Saturday.

The fraudulent message from a Montreal area code, which uses the city’s logo, instructs people to pay $4.35 to avoid ‘late fees of 35$’.

It provides a link to a deceptive .com website that is not the boston.gov website.

At-large City Councilor Erin Murphy is among the growing list of people targeted by the scam over the weekend.

“At first glance, absolutely looked real. Could easily scam people,” said Murphy. “Almost everyone I talked to, they got it or someone in their household got it.”

Murphy said she’s heard directly from people who were tricked by the message and compromised their banking information.

“It’s scary to know that someone was able to send that many text messages out, and they were targeting Boston phone numbers,” she said.

Boston police are still trying to figure out what phone database the scammers accessed and exactly how many people received the text message scam.

“They definitely got a lot of people, and the amount, $4.35, a few people said that was the fee they paid at a parking meter,” said Murphy. “It directed them to a website that looked very similar to the city of Boston website.”

Boston 25 News spoke with a handful of people who received the fraudulent message.

Some said they too almost fell for it.

One person said they didn’t own a vehicle and knew it was a scam right away.

The message has some grammatical errors and uses a ‘$’ sign after the number 35.

Boston 25 News called the phone number it came from, and it went directly to a voice message in French.

“Don’t feel embarrassed if you did pay it,” added Murphy. “Let us know so we can help track to make sure there’s no fraud going on or no money taken.”

While city officials recently announced a significant drop in violent crime and other serious crimes, one of the crimes that remain on the rise is financial fraud.

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