For Immediate Release
February 11, 2025
Contact: Carlen Singmaster, Emerald Necklace Conservancy, csingmaster@emeraldnecklace.org, 617-522-2700
Trump Tariffs Could Escalate Final Cost of Massive Soccer Stadium; Trial Over Privatization Set for March 18
BOSTON — Yesterday, BOS Nation Football Club’s for-profit investors placed $25 million into an escrow account to fund part of the team’s share of demolition costs for the planned $200 million-plus new-construction professional soccer stadium complex at White Stadium in Boston’s historic Franklin Park.
The Franklin Park Defenders, a group of local residents and park advocates who have raised serious concerns about the soccer stadium proposal, and who support an alternative public renovation of White Stadium as a more affordable high-school facility, responded today.
“This isn't a milestone, it's a distress signal. The City and BOS Nation's multimillionaire investors still have no idea what the final cost of their massive new stadium will be, but they’re ready to tear down White Stadium and clear cut 145 mature trees in Franklin Park,” said Melissa Hamel, a Jamaica Plain resident and member of the Franklin Park Defenders. “With Trump putting massive tariffs on steel, aluminum, and Canadian lumber, additional cost overruns are almost a certainty once construction bids come in.”
“Boston taxpayers are already being asked to pay at least $100 million to build the oversized luxury stadium the soccer team wants, when we could afford a quality high school stadium for much less,” said Carla-Lisa Caliga, a Jamaica Plain resident and member of the Franklin Park Defenders. “How much more will we be asked to pay to meet the soccer team's rushed construction timeline? And that’s not to mention the costs beyond dollars, from irreparable damage to Franklin Park to the health impacts of increased traffic from thousands of cars.”
“The project’s total cost has already quadrupled since it was first announced – how much more will the cost go up once Trump’s tariffs are factored in?” said Rodney Singleton, a Roxbury resident and member of the Franklin Park Defenders. “There is no good reason to permanently damage Franklin Park by cutting down 145 trees without a clear picture of the actual cost to Boston taxpayers.”
Last month, half of the Boston City Council voted for an immediate pause on White Stadium demolition and construction. The vote represented escalating concerns by Boston’s elected leaders about the privatization of White Stadium. In June 2024, 11 of 13 city councilors voted to approve $50 million in taxpayer funding for the project. Since then, the soccer team’s proposal been met with substantial public opposition, and the projected taxpayer cost has doubled to $100 million, even before the project is put out to bid.
The Emerald Necklace Conservancy has proposed 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 professional cost estimate prepared by Vermeulens, Inc. shows that Boston could renovate White Stadium as a high-quality, fully public high school stadium for $28.9 million. In contrast, city and team officials have not released any detailed cost estimate for their proposal — just ballpark figures.
On Thursday, Feb. 13 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., the Franklin Park Defenders will be hosting a community meeting to discuss urgent ideas for a public alternative to the pro soccer stadium proposal.
WHAT: White Stadium Community Meeting
WHO: Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, & Jamaica Plain residents; park advocates
WHEN: Thursday, February 13, 6pm - 8 pm
WHERE: Lena Park Community Center, 150 American Legion Highway, Dorchester MA 02124
Earlier this month, plaintiffs in the citizens’ lawsuit to prevent year-round commercial use of White Stadium filed an expanded legal complaint in Suffolk Superior Court, aiming to prevent corporate control of public parkland in Boston’s historic Franklin Park. Twenty individual residents and the Emerald Necklace Conservancy allege in the lawsuit that the proposal by the City of Boston and BOS Nation Football Club violates Article 97 of the Massachusetts Constitution by illegally transferring public trust and conservation land to private use without required legislative review and approval. A trial in the lawsuit is scheduled to begin on March 18, 2025.
The plan by BOS Nation and the City of Boston includes the demolition of 95% of White Stadium to build a new for-profit professional sports and concert venue that is twice the size of the existing public school sports stadium. The project would clear-cut 145 trees and harm historic public parkland in the process. In addition to the legal concerns expressed in the ongoing lawsuit, 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, football exclusion until November, and decreased community access.
Learn more at franklinparkdefenders.com.
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