Public records reveal negotiations to rehab Boston’s White Stadium for a new pro soccer team were underway long before the city sent out a request for proposals.

When that RFP went out, it very closely reflected the framework discussed between the investor group and city.

Internal city emails obtained by the Herald show Boston Unity Soccer Partners first reached out to the Wu administration about their plans to bring a new professional women’s soccer team to Boston in September 2022, when the for-profit group indicated their intense interest in Franklin Park’s White Stadium as the team’s future home.

Today, the community remains divided over the more than $200 million plan, which has taxpayers on the hook for half of the cost that’s nearly doubled in recent weeks. The project, championed by Mayor Michelle Wu, has become a central campaign issue, with her opponent Josh Kraft calling for a pause on demolition until the courts can rule on a legal challenge from the community.

Some critics have likened the plan to a “giveaway” to wealthy investors, while proponents have touted the long-needed investment for BPS student-athletes.

“I wanted to thank you very much for taking the time to speak with me the end of last week regarding the exciting possibility of bringing a women’s professional soccer team to the city of Boston,” Jennifer Epstein, a core investor of Boston Unity and controlling manager of the new team, wrote in a Sept. 7, 2022 email to Segun Idowu, the city’s chief of economic opportunity and inclusion.

“It is our first choice to partner with the city to use existing infrastructure in new ways to benefit the city, and a perfect example in our mind is a public/private partnership with the Boston Public Schools and the City of Boston to adapt White Stadium in Franklin Park into a top-tier soccer venue,” Epstein wrote.

Internal emails show the eventual terms of the city’s request for proposals — required as part of a public bid process for city construction contracts — started to be shaped through seven months of conversations between Boston Unity and city officials. Those private talks took place ahead of the city’s formal RFP release to prospective bidders in April 2023.

Boston Unity was selected for the project after submitting the only bid in June 2023. Eight months earlier, Mayor Wu had submitted a letter of support for Boston Unity’s expansion bid to the National Women’s Soccer League.

Boston Globe CEO Linda Pizzuti Henry is an investor in the team, but said last Friday that she working to back out of the group.

“I am excited to be writing to express my support for Boston Unity Soccer Club’s proposal to establish a new, professional women’s soccer team here in the City of Champions,” Wu wrote to the NWSL on Oct. 28, 2022. “My administration is committed to working with Boston Unity Soccer Club to ensure the success of this effort.

“I have empowered every department in my cabinet to work closely with the applicants to identify the best location for a state-of-the-art facility,” Wu wrote.

The mayor’s letter of support was requested by Epstein, who wrote earlier that their expansion bid would be submitted to the NWSL on Nov. 4, 2022. She added that “progress towards resolution of a stadium is of critical importance to the league’s decision-making.”

Epstein had also submitted an executive summary to the city in September 2022, “for a future proposal for White Stadium” that was “meant to outline the benefits” of a potential public-private partnership there, by “leveraging existing municipal resources.”

An Oct. 9, 2022 email sent by Epstein foreshadowed today’s legal challenge around the purported illegal privatization of public trust land that is pending in Suffolk Superior Court. A trial date is set for March 18.

“As far as other next steps, more discovery on the legal issues seems in order,” Epstein wrote. “I am hopeful that because the White Foundation owns the land and the stadium that perhaps the restrictions from Article 97 may not apply.”

In November 2022, the George Robert White Trust, a charitable fund created for the city that it used to purchase a portion of Franklin Park in 1947 for the purpose of establishing a new stadium on that land for public use, was discussed by the city’s legal department and a Boston Unity attorney.

Epstein told Idowu that her group was focused on White Stadium “because it perfectly meets our needs.” The city had floated East Boston’s Memorial Stadium as an alternative should legal reasons hinder their top choice, but she said it was not as desirable because it has roughly half the capacity.

Boston Unity submitted a statement of intent to the city on Dec. 12, 2022, laying out its plan to “significantly rehabilitate and operate George Robert White Stadium at Franklin Park, Roxbury.”

The group sent a final, more detailed letter of intent on on April 14, 2023. The letter outlined the particulars of the project, and included key elements of a formal RFP released by the city soon after. It included, for example, what each side’s half of the construction costs would entail.

Boston Unity, the letter stated, would be responsible for rebuilding the west grandstand, while the city would be in charge of rehabbing the east grandstand.

The letter also outlined the eventual agreed-upon terms of a 10-year lease agreement finalized this past December, such as the 20-game-day commitment for the new team and its annual rent payment of $400,000 to the city, with 3% yearly increases thereafter.

Boston Unity’s letter was “acknowledged and agreed” upon by two city officials, Chief of Operations Dion Irish and Chief of Policy and Strategic Planning Mike Firestone.

Tiffany Chu, the mayor’s chief of staff, thanked “everyone for the teamwork on this” effort in an April 17, 2023 email.

“Really appreciate the long calls at all hours, creative solutions, and perseverance to get us over this first finish line together,” Chu wrote. “Looking forward to achieving big things together.”

Epstein responded a day later.

“I just want to let the group know we closed with the league yesterday morning so now the real work begins,” Epstein said. “We are very excited to be partnering with the City of Boston … Thank you again for the collective hard work which got us to this point (now we need to get that RFP out!).”

The new team is set to take the pitch in March 2026.