The final $325 million cost estimate for the renovation of Boston’s White Stadium includes $135 million in city funding, which is nearly three times the city’s original pledge two years ago for the public-private development involving a new professional women’s soccer team.
The Boston Legacy Football Club privately secured $190 million in renovations and is providing the largest community benefit in the city’s history. The $250 million commitment over the next 15 years also allocates $34 million to the operation and maintenance of the stadium, Mayor Michelle Wu announced during a Feb. 7 news conference.
Wu remains committed to the 11,000-seat stadium project despite strong opposition from councilors and neighborhood groups, who criticize rising costs. The mayor stated that the updated costs reflect the final design, scope and construction material rates.
“There have been a lot of escalations in things that are out of the city’s control, like steel prices going up 40 percent since we started, or labor costs going up very significantly,” Wu told WBUR. “A lot of things about federal policies and all the chaos this administration has caused. But that doesn’t explain everything, or even most of the change in the numbers.”
Although the project’s demolition is complete, underground foundation and subsidence work is underway, including upgrading the power, water and telecommunications infrastructure, which will be completed this fall. Bond Building Construction Inc., the at-risk construction manager for the project’s eastern half of the city, has completed the below-grade utility relocation phase, Carolyn Campot, a Bond spokeswoman, told ENR in an email.
“We are preparing for the first concrete pours for new building foundations in February and will begin steel construction in April,” Campot said.
The final design of the stadium includes a professional-grade turf field, an eight-lane varsity-level track, dedicated strength and conditioning facilities, a sports medicine center and flexible indoor study and community spaces, according to the city.
Professional turf is more expensive to maintain than artificial turf, But it’s healthier for athletes, Wu noted. The design calls for a sub-air system to extend the number of days the turf can be used; the latest stadium design contributed to the cost increase, but he said it was only finalized after “a detailed community process”.
The state Supreme Judicial Court is currently reviewing an appeal of a lawsuit filed by opposition groups that say the project, located in the city’s historic Franklin Park, violates state public land use laws. A ruling is expected this spring or summer. Opposition groups have also proposed an alternative, cheaper stadium design just for Boston Public School athletes.
“It’s fair to expect the ultimate cost to taxpayers will be even higher,” said Louis Elisa, a Dorchester resident who argues it’s not too late “for the city to reconsider this fatally flawed project and instead build a much more affordable, fully public high school stadium that meets the needs of BPS students and their families and their professional investors – notlet.”
Boston Legacy FC majority owner Jenifer Epstein said in a statement that “we are making sure White Stadium remains a year-round city-owned public asset for Boston Public Schools students and the community for generations.”
Construction is expected to continue in 2027.
