A Superior Court judge has cleared the way for the City of Boston to proceed with its public-private plan to rehab White Stadium for a new pro soccer team by ruling that the $200 million project does not violate state law for parkland protections.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Mathew Nestor released his 18-page ruling Wednesday in favor of the defendants, the City of Boston and Boston Unity Soccer Partners, which owns the professional women’s soccer team that is set to take the pitch at a redeveloped White Stadium in Franklin Park in March 2026.

“Notwithstanding the testimony from nearby residents, there is simply inadequate evidence that the everyday use of the property evinces an unequivocal intent to dedicate the property as public parkland,” Nestor wrote. “I conclude, therefore, that the stadium parcel is not protected by Article 97.”

The plaintiffs, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy and a group of 20 park neighbors, had alleged in their lawsuit that the city and Boston Unity’s proposed use would privatize protected parkland in violation of Article 97 of the state constitution.

Article 97, approved by voters in 1972, requires two-thirds approval from the state Legislature for other uses for land and easements taken or acquired for conservation purposes.

Nestor disagreed after hearing evidence during a three-day trial last month, in a ruling that provides a major victory for Mayor Michelle Wu, who has championed the public-private investment as essential to upgrading a dilapidated facility for Boston Public Schools students, who will share use of it with the pro team.

The plaintiffs expressed their disappointment with the day’s ruling and vowed to keep fighting the project.

“We’re disappointed by the trial’s outcome, but we’re not surprised,” Jean McGuire, a plaintiff, ex-School Committee member and past civil rights leader, said in a statement. “Our community is used to seeing laws meant to protect the public get trampled when the rich and powerful see an opportunity to make money.

“Despite this outcome, we still believe that our community deserves an alternative to an oversized, for-profit sports and entertainment complex in Franklin Park.”