NAACP Boston Branch Calls for Halt to White Stadium Pro Soccer Plans, Offers Support for Fully Public Stadium Alternative

Leading civil rights organization joins dozens of local organizations, hundreds of individuals who support a fully public renovation of White Stadium for Boston Public Schools students & public use; not a private lease to the for-profit Boston Legacy FC

BOSTON — The NAACP Boston Branch is calling for an immediate halt to the proposed $200 million+ for-profit professional sports and entertainment complex at White Stadium in Franklin Park, as Boston Legacy Football Club’s decision to play their inaugural season at Gillette Stadium is being met with growing calls for reconsideration of the proposal to build a professional sports stadium in Franklin Park.

While the existing high school stadium on the site has been mostly demolished, construction of the new stadium has still not been fully bid or begun, and residents and advocates say there is still plenty of time to reconsider plans to build a massive new professional sports stadium in Franklin Park.

The NAACP Boston Branch, the oldest and largest all volunteer civil rights organization in Boston, joins 28 other neighborhood associations, park groups, and other organizations, along with hundreds of individual neighbors and park advocates, in supporting a significantly more affordable, fully-public stadium renovation that would meet the needs of BPS students and the community, without the many flaws of the new private soccer stadium.

“Franklin Park is both one of the nation’s foremost historic landscapes and a vital gathering space for Boston’s Black and Brown communities. As Boston residents and members of the NAACP Boston Branch, we support the renovation of White Stadium into a high-quality public facility that serves all Boston Public School (BPS) student-athletes and the communities surrounding Franklin Park,” the NAACP Boston Branch said in a statement released today. “However, we have serious concerns about the current $200 million proposal to redevelop White Stadium into an 11,000-seat venue to be leased to Boston Unity Soccer Partners (BUSP), a private, for-profit entity.”

The statement, which can found here, identified several key issues with the proposal: displacement of students and community use, negative community impacts, failure to meet equity standards, and a lack of transparency and community process. The NAACP Boston Branch called for “an immediate halt to the ongoing demolition and construction at White Stadium” until the City of Boston “releases a fully public renovation plan for community review and input; finalizes comprehensive transportation, parking, and climate resilience plans developed in collaboration with neighborhood associations representing residents near Franklin Park; commits to meeting or exceeding the Boston Residents Jobs Policy for all work—whether public or led by BUSP—at the site; and improves community engagement and transparency, ensuring that future investments in White Stadium benefit all Boston residents equitably.”

Members of the Franklin Park Defenders, the group of individual neighbors, park advocates, and organizations who support a significantly more affordable, fully-public stadium renovation rather than the soccer team’s plan, responded to the news.

“As time goes on, more and more of our neighbors are reaching the conclusion that a professional soccer stadium is the wrong plan for Franklin Park and surrounding communities. The movement to defend Franklin Park continues to grow, and we’re thrilled to have the NAACP Boston Branch’s support for our community-led vision of a fully public White Stadium — not a private professional sports complex,” said Renée Stacey Welch, a Jamaica Plain resident and member of the Franklin Park Defenders. “With Boston Legacy delaying their plans to play in Franklin Park by a year, it’s time for a responsible compromise to rebuild White Stadium as a fully public facility and identify a different permanent home for the soccer team.”

“For decades, when the City of Boston let White Stadium and Franklin Park fall into disrepair, we cleaned up the park ourselves. We all want White Stadium rebuilt to meet the needs of Boston student-athletes and park users, and the City has the money to do it,” said Louis Elisa, a member of the Franklin Park Defenders who serves as President of the Garrison Trotter Neighborhood Council and is a former President of the NAACP Boston Branch. “What we don’t want is a professional soccer stadium that will displace Boston residents from Franklin Park on 20 annual game days, evict BPS football teams from their home stadium, and generate immense traffic, noise, and light pollution that will destroy Franklin Park's ability to serve as a serene natural environment. City leaders need to listen to the concerns of neighborhood associations, civil rights leaders, and hundreds of Boston residents, and abandon this attempt to fast-track the privatization of our public parkland.”

Background on the White Stadium Redevelopment Project

Residents of the Roxbury, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain and Mattapan have significant concerns about the plan to lease White Stadium to a professional sports team — rather than renovating it as a public stadium for the sole benefit of BPS students and the local community. The City of Boston and Boston Unity Soccer Partners (BUSP) are in the process of demolishing the existing White Stadium in order to build a new, significantly larger for-profit professional sports stadium, entertainment venue, and multiple restaurants and retail shops in its place.

In addition to the legal concerns expressed in an ongoing lawsuit against the project, neighboring residents and park advocates have expressed opposition to the project over issues ranging from increased air, noise and light pollution, increased litter, the removal of 145 mature trees, increased traffic and parking restrictions, and decreased student and community access.

Pro soccer games and other private events would displace BPS students and the community from White Stadium and surrounding parts of Franklin Park on 20 annual game days, 20 practice days, and additional concert and event days - more than half of all weekends during the summer, when residents use the park the most. BPS football teams would be displaced from the stadium entirely during the bulk of their regular season, because the soccer league doesn't want their cleats on the field.

The full cost of the project’s construction will not be clear until at least July 15, when construction bids for the City’s share of the project are due. While it was initially described by city and team officials as costing as little as $30 million, the project’s cost has since ballooned to over $200 million, with the City and Boston Public Schools responsible for at least $100 million.

Background on the Alternative: a Fully-Public Renovation of White Stadium

Neighbors and parks advocates support an alternative plan to renovate White Stadium as a public high school facility for BPS student-athletes, at a much lower cost to taxpayers and the environment.

The Emerald Necklace Conservancy has proposed such an alternative concept: a high-quality, fully public renovation of White Stadium that would avoid the many negative impacts of building a professional sports venue in the middle of historic Franklin Park. A detailed cost estimate conducted by Vermeulens, Inc. included in the report found that Boston could renovate White Stadium as a high-quality, fully public high school stadium for $28.9 million. 

There are numerous examples of high school and even college sports stadiums being built or renovated for similar amounts. Stadium expert Andrew Zimbalist states that “it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that Boston taxpayers are subsidizing a professional sports stadium on public recreation land in Franklin Park.