Image courtesy of Stantec
The Emerald Necklace Conservancy is seeking to block the city’s “breakneck pace” to partner with a private developer on a new women’s professional soccer stadium.
The nonprofit environmental group says the public-private partnership to renovate and expand White Stadium in Franklin Park violates a trust that governs future uses of the property. It’s seeking an injunction blocking the city from leasing the property to Boston Unity Soccer Partners, citing violations of state laws protecting public lands.
In December, Boston Unity Soccer Partners submitted plans to update the 74-year-old stadium with a new concession area, seating and site improvements. The stadium would become home to a new National Women’s Soccer League franchise affiliated with the development group. Under the public-private partnership, the city of Boston would be responsible for renovating the east grandstand, and would retain access to use the stadium for public schools’ events.
The lawsuit, submitted in Suffolk Superior Court, named Boston Unity Partners, the city of Boston and the White Fund Trust as defendants.
It states the project would illegally transfer the 14-acre property owned by the White Fund Trust to private properties. The White Fund Trust was created in the will of George Robert White, which stated that it be “only be used for creating works of public utility and beauty” and that no income from the trust will be applied in joint undertakings, the complaint states.
The city issued a request for proposals in April 2023 for the stadium lease and renovation project.
“The project is progressing at an alarming speed, without many of the required elements of oversight and review expected for a development of this size and scale,” attorneys from Boston-based Casner & Edwards LLP wrote in the complaint.
Stating that the soccer team would have exclusive use of the property for 20 home games a year, the complaint alleges violations of the Massachusetts Public Lands Preservation Act and a public charitable trust.
A Boston Planning & Development Agency review of the project is scheduled to continue with a scheduled meeting of an impact advisory group on Feb. 26. Boston Unity Soccer Partners was not immediately available for comment.
