Boston’s controversial public-private plan to rehab Franklin Park’s White Stadium for a new pro women’s soccer team has cleared another hurdle, with the team’s for-profit ownership group depositing $25 million in escrow for construction.
Boston Unity Soccer Partners notified city and public school officials Monday that it had made the $25 million deposit into an escrow account. The deposit was required as part of the private group’s 10-year lease agreement with the city and had to be made before demolition could begin at the 75-year-old White Stadium.
“The establishment of this $25 million construction account for White Stadium, funded entirely by the professional team, is a major milestone in delivering this long-delayed project for BPS student-athletes and Franklin Park,” Dion Irish, the city’s chief of operations, said in a Monday statement.
“The $25 million fund is permanently committed to the stadium renovation, providing additional security to the City of Boston, as both parties continue to move forward with construction,” he added.
Boston Unity’s letter states that Fidelity National Title Insurance Company, where the deposit was made, will administer the funds as “escrow agent under a certain escrow agreement executed by and for the benefit of the contracting parties.”
An escrow agreement is a financial arrangement where a neutral third party holds funds on behalf of two parties involved in a real estate transaction until specific conditions are met.
The city and Boston Unity, an all-female ownership group that includes Boston Globe CEO Linda Pizzuti Henry as an investor, have partnered on a plan that seeks to redevelop the dilapidated White Stadium.
“We are excited to be moving forward to the next phase of the renovation project, as outlined in our lease agreement,” Boston Unity said in a Monday statement.
The plan has drawn intense opposition from parts of the community, particularly over its ever-rising price tag that has ballooned from an initial projected cost of $100 million to more than $200 million in recent weeks. Boston taxpayers are already on the hook for about $100 million, for the city’s half of the project.
It is also the subject of a lawsuit from a group of 20 neighbors and the Emerald Necklace Conservancy that alleges the proposed for-profit use would illegally privatize public trust land.
Mayor Wu has denied the privatization claim, saying that the city and its public school district would maintain ownership of the stadium, and the new pro soccer team, as a tenant, would share use of the facility with BPS student-athletes.
Critics contend that BPS football teams would be displaced for much of their seasons, however, given that the National Women’s Soccer League schedule typically lasts from March to November.
The City Council deadlocked, 6-6, on a vote taken last month for a measure that would have urged the city to halt demolition until outstanding community concerns are addressed and alternative plans can be considered.
“Boston Public School athletes and the broader community deserve a stadium that prioritizes their needs first,” Councilor Erin Murphy said in a Monday statement. “I continue to call for a pause on demolition until all outstanding questions are answered, particularly regarding long-term public access, the financial burden on the city, and the impact on Franklin Park.”