Boston is kicking in on a 10-year public-private lease agreement with a women’s pro soccer team to renovate White Stadium in Franklin Park, Mayor Michelle Wu announced this morning.
The deal — just announced — spells out a “shared usage agreement” with Boston Unity Soccer Partners that will also carve out time for school students and city residents. The lease can be extended, the mayor’s announcement adds.
It comes as the city’s portion of the cost for renovation of the old stadium has skyrocketed from $50 million to $91 million and counting — a price that’s too much for some with the project still part of a lawsuit.
Still, the mayor said this project sticks to her goal to deliver “excellent education” to Boston Public Schools students.
“White Stadium is a generational opportunity to anchor citywide youth sports, revitalize community programming, and bolster our beloved, historic Franklin Park,” Wu said in her release, where she “thanked” Boston Unity Soccer Partners for pitching in.
One of those investors in the all-female soccer ownership group includes Boston Globe CEO Linda Pizzuti Henry.
BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper called the deal “an exciting moment” for student-athletes who will now have a “world class home” for sporting events.
Details of the deal, according to the mayor, include:
The total cost of the city’s public-private plan to tear down and rehab White Stadium to house a new professional women’s soccer team has ballooned from initial estimates of $100 million to roughly $200 million. The city’s share has increased from $50 million to $91 million, according to numbers that first became public last month during a public facilities commission meeting.
This is a developing story that will be updated with a press conference set for 10:30 a.m. …
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