What do you even want me to say at this point, respectfully?
Boston, MA
In last-minute maneuver, Boston’s White Stadium opponents seek new ‘legal theory’ to block city’s soccer project
With half their case already dismissed, a group of plaintiffs vying to stop the City of Boston’s public-private plan to rehab White Stadium for a pro soccer team made a last-minute motion near the end of trial to try to enhance their legal claims.
The late motion aims to provide a layer of insurance to the plaintiffs’ remaining major claim, by way of a legal theory purportedly backed by state law that gives 10 taxpayers the ability, through the court, to block the type of project the city and Boston Unity Soccer Partners are pursuing with their plan to rebuild the stadium on public parkland.
While 20 neighbors of Franklin Park’s White Stadium joined the Emerald Necklace Conservancy in filing last year’s lawsuit, not all of them were homeowners who pay property taxes. The motion adds to their legal challenge, that the proposed for-profit stadium would illegally privatize protected public land, by ensuring that the plaintiffs include 10 “taxable inhabitants of the City of Boston.”
“Under this statute, this court ‘shall have jurisdiction in equity, upon petition of not less than ten taxable inhabitants of the city or town in which such common or park is located, to restrain the erection of a building on a common or park in violation of this section,’” the motion filed Wednesday by Attorneys Alan Lipkind and Nicholas Allen states.
The motion asserts that the city is violating state statute by erecting a more than 600,000 square-foot building on designated public parkland without legislative approval, and by raising funds for the roughly $200 million project.
That legal argument forms the basis of the plaintiffs’ remaining case, which is that the public-private plan violates Article 97 of the state constitution, which voters approved in 1972 and requires two-thirds approval from the state Legislature for other uses for land and easements taken or acquired for conservation purposes. The city and BUSP deny the privatization claim.
The plaintiffs’ motion “to conform their pleadings to the evidence presented at trial,” drew backlash from attorneys for the City of Boston, who argued that the last-minute legal maneuver should not be allowed by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Matthew Nestor.
An attorney for the city, when the motion was introduced at the trial Wednesday, described it as “extremely prejudicial to us,” given that the plaintiffs were seeking to “add claims in the middle of a trial” that the city’s legal team had not had a chance to review nor prepare evidence for.
Lipkind responded by saying there “no new claims” introduced by the motion.
“It’s just another tool to give the court a legal theory to rely on,” Lipkind said.
A city attorney also sought to convince Nestor to disallow the motion by arguing that it was “futile,” given that the city is only paying for its half of the project, there’s “nothing illegal” about the city spending city funds to build a school building and sports stadium, and Boston Public Schools will retain ownership of White Stadium after it’s rebuilt.
The city’s legal team also argued that the proposed use fits under the “works of beauty and public utility” for Boston residents category that the municipality was authorized to use Franklin Park for, when it was purchased by a public charitable trust in 1947 for the purpose of establishing a stadium there.
The plaintiffs’ half of the case arguing that the trust, the George Robert White Fund, does not allow for “joint undertakings” such as what the city and Boston Unity is proposing, was thrown out by Nestor on the eve of trial Monday.
In this instance, Nestor, who ruled in favor of the city on all pre-trial motions, opted to allow the plaintiffs’ last-minute motion on Wednesday. He had also rejected the city and BUSP’s motion to dismiss the plaintiffs’ claims a day earlier, allowing the trial to continue.
Nestor said that while it’s “always good to bring claims before” a trial, the law is clear that there’s nothing barring a new claim in a civil case … “even though it’s late, really late.”
“But it’s not too uncommon,” Nestor said. “I will allow the motion.”
The matter came up again at the end of the day’s trial session, when Gary Ronan, an attorney for the city, told Nestor that the city’s legal team needed more time “to address the amended complaint.”
Nestor, who had said earlier that he would allow the defendants the ability to address the amended claim by introducing new evidence or a new witness, said that he wouldn’t allow much more time, given that he was looking to wrap up the trial with closing statements on Thursday.
“You know what the theory is so nothing from here on out should be a surprise,” Nestor said. “If there’s anything in the written amended complaint that creates something different, I’ll certainly reconsider it.”
The second day of trial revolved around the city’s witnesses, two city officials who were involved in what they described as an extensive review and design process for the White Stadium rehab and a BPS athletics official who spoke of how he felt the plan would bring much-needed improvements to the run-down 76-year-old facility.
While Nestor ruled against allowing the plaintiffs’ pre-trial motion to bring forward public drinking concerns with the plan, he opted on Wednesday to allow their attorneys to raise the issue of state statute not allowing alcohol on school property.
Nestor, after a city attorney objected, said the city’s legal team opened that door when questioning a witness about permitted events at the stadium, which BPS owns and would share use of with the National Women’s Soccer League expansion team.
The city’s contention that its prior classification of Franklin Park as being protected by Article 97 — a key point of contention in the plaintiffs’ case — was due to a mapping mistake by a retired Parks Department employee was raised again during testimony by Interim Parks Commissioner Liza Meyer.
The issue, regarding classification in city open space plans that go back “decades,” was first raised Tuesday in opening statements by the plaintiffs’ and city’s attorneys.
Day 3 of the high-stakes trial, which will determine the fate of the controversial plan championed by Mayor Michelle Wu, will convene at 9 a.m. Thursday. Wu’s opponent in the mayoral race, Josh Kraft, has called for a pause on the project until the litigation is resolved.
Originally Published:
Before I get on my soap box and complain for however-many words, let me just quickly say that I appreciate the fact that you’re here. It’s a holiday Monday, you could’ve done anything else with your long weekend, and yet you decided to read the upset ramblings of a man who is really pissed off with his shitty baseball team. For that, I thank you. Isn’t that the American Dream, what I’m living out right now?
Tongue-in-cheek comments aside: I’m exhausted, folks. Not with the writing—I’ll be here on OTM until the bitter end—but with the watching. Forgive me for the stream of consciousness this week, but I don’t know what else to do.
The 2026 Boston Red Sox are a chore to watch. I don’t really remember the last time I’ve ever felt that way in my life. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt that way, actually, now that I think about it. I was in high school in 2012; I still had that youthful spunk where I wanted to watch my team. I was still probably riding enough of a high after 2013 to ensure that the following two season weren’t a monotonous watch. Even the non-‘21-and-‘25 teams in the 2020’s weren’t this miserable to sit through at this point in the season, at least for me (your mileage may vary).
After a sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Twins, the Sox are dangerously close to being 10 games under .500, as if avoiding that label would be any fucking consolation prize for a team that was getting AL pennant shouts two months ago (and I’m guilty of that too! I had Seattle winning the pennant over us! Not that the Seattle prediction is going well, but my goodness!). This team is a joke. They are, simply put, pathetic. I’m not sure how in depth I can go with that as my basis right now.
Perhaps this is just my own personal reckoning with the situation, but doesn’t this feel like the right time for it? The unofficial date to begin worrying about your team has always been Memorial Day. We’re there now, and I think the season’s just about over already. There’s no generational prospect coming up through the minors to help us. The coaching staff has already been cleaned out. The money is being allocated by FSG in some capacity, for all the ownership group’s faults, yet here we are. The roster construction is still a mess and it will continue to be a mess for the immediate future.
To quote a wise sheriff…
If there’s a way out of this mess, I can’t personally see it. I try to be as optimistic as possible, but I do not see a path to 270 electoral votes this year. I’d love to eat these words in a few months, but I don’t believe in this group. I’ve seen enough. I’ll keep watching because I’m a sicko. I’ll keep writing about this team because I love writing and I love the Red Sox and I love this lil’ gig I’ve been blessed with getting. But I sure as hell do not love this iteration of the team, man. We’ll have plenty of time to talk about what needs to happen to right the ship (I don’t want to be rash, but I’m becoming more and more of a #BreslowOut guy as the days go on, slowly but surely), but as for right now: I think the prospects we had in late March about this team contending in October are just about done and dusted.
If you’re a consistent reader, you know that I like to dive into the developments that have happened over the course of the week in the MMBB, whether they’re good or bad. That practice will continue for the rest of the season. I’ll try to be as optimistic as possible moving forward in 2026, but just know that I’m probably harboring a sense of dread alongside any positive words I have until I’m given a reason by the team to feel otherwise. Why waste my time by thinking things could be getting better this season when I’m talking about any consistent trends that Jarren Duran might’ve had at the plate this week? The last time I did that, he sucked for another week-and-change. I did the same with Marcelo Mayer before then, and it’s been even worse for him. I could talk until I’m blue in the face about the positive trends being made by a Payton Tolle or a Sonny Gray or a, dare I say, Brayan Bello when he’s being preceded by an opener.
Doesn’t matter, dude. We suck shit.
All of those positive trends could be true in a vacuum, but I don’t think they’re gonna ultimately matter this year—short of something extraordinary happening. The pitching’s been pretty solid overall, the defense has been stellar, and I’ve tried finding the positives in an underwhelming lineup. All of that together has gotten us eight games below an even .500. We’re a laughing stock in the league; a banter club, if you follow the Premier League. We’ve got Buster Olney saying we’ve got to abort the Caleb Durbin experiment. The question of “What the fuck are we doing in the front office” is a legitimate one at this stage. To get even more existential, another great question is “What is the plan moving forward?”
We’ve got nothing going for us on a consistent basis. Even after a sweep in Kansas City, the team goes and shits their pants yet again at home. The only time I’ve ever given true credence to the idea of momentum not being a thing has been with watching this collection of guys representing the Red Sox, because I haven’t seen an ounce of it this year. What is there to look forward to for the last four months of the year?
I guess I’ve gotta answer that question for myself. Maybe you do as well.
Again: I’ll be here for y’all. I’ll talk about positive and negative trends as I see ‘em, because I like talking ball. I love this team, I love this sport, and I love talking about both the team as well as the sport.
But I suppose this is my official declaration that I’m not gonna be fooled by this specific group going forward. I’ve been patient enough thus far; the patience is gone. I’m not holding any reservations for them for the rest of the year, because they don’t deserve those reservations. We’ve crossed the Rubicon, if the Rubicon was filled with poo. Maybe we’re drowning in that Rubicon instead, come to think of it. Either way: I don’t see a way where we could be going back.
I’ll still watch, I’ll still write, I’ll still support, but I don’t believe in this group as things currently stand. I’d love to be proven wrong, but I don’t think I’m alone in this sentiment. What have they done to prove otherwise? I’ve tried putting a spotlight on positive things (and I’m not trying to sound like the end-all-be-all of Sox analysis here, folks; this is just my personal ramblings) and they haven’t amounted to much of anything. I don’t care how bad the American League is. We’re a prime example of that suckiness. How many times can the boy cry wolf? How many times can the Sox blogger cry positive regression?
I dunno, folks. I’m just exhausted with this team already. I think it’ll be a………………………………………..
Song of the Week: “Cruel Summer” by Taylor Swift
I swear I didn’t go into this aiming for it to be a 1,200+ word set-up to a stupid joke, but if the shoe fits….
Same time and same place next week, folks. Go Sox, I guess. Who gives a fuck anymore?
Fellow firefighters paid somber tribute at the fire house where Robert “Bobby” Kilduff, who many referred to as “BK,” served for decades with the Boston Fire Department. On Sunday, black bunting was hung in honor of Kilduff, who died Saturday night after falling from the third floor while battling a Dorchester fire.
“He was the heart of this fire house, he is going to be missed sorely. He is irreplaceable,” Lt. Greg Kelly said.
Kilduff’s fellow firefighters were brought to tears as they remembered their friend and brother. They placed his boots on the floor and traced an outline onto the cement following his death.
“Bobby Kilduff is exactly the definition of what you would imagine a true firefighter should be,” Boston firefighter Lector Tavares said.
All of the residents of the Dorchester home where the fire broke out Saturday night made it out safely. A mayday call was issued when Kilduff fell. He was rushed to the hospital but did not survive.
“BK was the quintessential rescue man. Just in the last 48 hours prior to this fire, he was involved in rescuing a girl who was trying to jump off a building,” Lt. Kelly said. “When the mayday came in, I couldn’t imagine it could be BK. He’s usually the one saving people.”
Not only did Kilduff spend decades in the fire service, but he also spent years serving his country in the U.S. Marines.
Kilduff was also part of the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts, hosting training scenarios for elected officials about the dangers firefighters face.
Kilduff leaves behind two adult children. His girlfriend and her two children. The fire remains under investigation at this time.
“He prioritized so much the importance of being a dad. He loved his kids so much,” Capt. Kevin Preston said.
Funeral arrangments have not yet been announced.
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