Boston Mayor Michelle Wu will speak Thursday in celebration of what she called a “historic” court victory that will allow the renovation of White Stadium to continue.
The mayor is scheduled to speak at 9:15 a.m. You can watch a stream in the player above.
A judge is allowing the demolition of the stadium to continue so it can be renovated for use by city schoolchildren as well as a new professional women’s soccer team.
The project has received significant pushback from community members. The Emerald Necklace Conservancy and 20 people had sued in Suffolk Superior Court to stop the stadium’s development, but Justice Matthew Nestor found, in a ruling issued Wednesday, that the project didn’t violate state law because there isn’t strong evidence that the stadium property qualifies as public parkland.
Wu called the court victory “historic” in a statement, and an official with the soccer team, the recently renamed Boston Legacy FC, said they “are pleased to continue” revitalizing the stadium.
The president of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Karen Mauney-Brodek, left open the possibility of appealing the case in a statement sent after the ruling.
“We’re deeply disappointed by the judge’s decision regarding the applicability of constitutional public land protections to Franklin Park and the land of the George Robert White public trust, and we plan to assess our legal options,” she said, adding that such major changes to public land “require a true and fair public process” that Franklin Park didn’t get.
The trial is scheduled to get underway in Suffolk Superior Court on Tuesday.
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Demolition work already started this winter on the 76-year-old, 10,000-seat stadium in Franklin Park, between Roxbury and Jamaica Plain. The city and Boston Unity Soccer Partners, the group behind the team, agreed to a public-private partnership that would split the cost of renovating the stadium for use by both Boston Public Schools and what was previously known as BOS Nation Football Club.
The community members who sued, along with the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, said the project will displace the marginal communities around it. Opponents have also raised concerns over noise and light pollution, litter, tree removal, traffic and parking restrictions.
Park advocates plan to speak out at two hearings at City Hall Wednesday, as they’re concerned about the removal of dozens of trees to make way for the newly-renovated White Stadium in Franklin Park.
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