Site work, new construction and renovation of a stadium in Boston, Massachusetts. Completed plans call for the renovation of a stadium; for the construction of a stadium; and for site work for a stadium.

https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2024/02/21/lawsuit-seeks-to-stop-pro-soccer-at-white-stadium.html A parks and conservation group is suing Boston over the city's plan to renovate the city-owned White Stadium in Franklin Park to become the home for a planned new women's professional soccer team. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/02/21/boston-white-stadium-renovation-backlash A group created to combat the neglect of public spaces across the city of Boston is "hopping mad -- and raising valid concerns" -- about the city’s plans to transform White Stadium into the new home of Boston’s expansion NWSL team, which is set to debut in 2026. The Emerald Necklace Conservancy has sued Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and other guardians of the stadium, "charging that the city is ramming through an ill-considered proposal that will do harm to neighbors of the park." The suit argues that the city has agreed to a deal "without sufficient public process or input." It also "challenges whether the city -- which technically controls the stadium, but doesn’t own it -- can enter into a long-term lease with the soccer folks, who would share use of White Stadium -- after a major two-year renovation -- with the Boston Public Schools." The stadium was built and is owned by the George Robert White Fund, though the Boston Public Schools have always controlled it. Boston Unity Soccer Partners, the group that secured an expansion franchise, has pledged $30M to renovate the stadium. The city has also pledged to devote $50M to the project (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/21). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/02/21/metro/plans-turn-white-stadium-into-soccer-palace-has-sparked-huge-controversy-lawsuit/p1=BGSearch_Advanced_Results The people of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy aren't exactly bomb-tossers. Created 25 years ago to combat the benign neglect and municipal indifference to Frederick Law Olmsted's signature string of public spaces across the city, the group generally concerns itself with raising money and doing good things for parks. But they are hopping mad -- and raising valid concerns -- about the city's plans to transform White Stadium, in Franklin Park, into the new home of Boston's expansion women's professional soccer team, which is set to debut in 2026. Angry enough, in fact, that on Tuesday the conservancy sued Mayor Michelle Wu and other guardians of the stadium, charging that the city is ramming through an ill-considered proposal that will do harm to neighbors of the park, particularly in Roxbury. The suit argues that the city has agreed to a deal with the soccer team without sufficient public process or input. It also challenges whether the city -- which technically controls the stadium, but doesn't own it -- can enter into a long-term lease with the soccer folks, who would share use of White Stadium -- after a major two-year renovation -- with the Boston Public Schools. The stadium was built and is owned by the George Robert White Fund, though the Boston Public Schools have always controlled it. Boston Unity Soccer Partners, the group that secured an expansion franchise from National Women's Soccer League, has pledged $30 million to renovate the stadium. The city has also pledged to devote $50 million to the project. (The group's investors include Boston Globe CEO Linda Henry.) I have to say that it's a bit jarring to me to see two teams of well-heeled white people -- the environmentalists and the future soccer team owners -- squaring off over 14 acres of Franklin Park. While people routinely pay lip service to the notion that it is one of the city's jewels, that has seldom been backed up by concrete action, much less litigation. But one fact that isn't in dispute is that White Stadium desperately needs an overhaul. It was built in 1945 to house Boston public school athletics, and it has been a dump for as long as anyone can remember. As suburban school districts have built gleaming facilities for their student-athletes, Boston's have been forced to rely on a crumbling facility with barely usable locker rooms and showers. It's a long-standing disgrace. Plans to do something about White Stadium have come and gone, as the price tag to fix it has only risen. More than a decade ago, I took an early morning tour of the place with John Fish, the high-powered CEO of Suffolk Construction. He had an ambitious renovation plan that had been blessed by then-Mayor Thomas M. Menino. But Menino left office before it got off the ground. And Fish was a Menino guy, which was good enough reason for his successor, Marty Walsh, to kill the idea. The stadium, and the youth who use it, quickly became an afterthought. Certainly, Wu should be commended for trying to reverse this baleful history, but the current proposal is far from ideal. The as-yet-unnamed soccer team would have dibs on use of the stadium from March to October, which would sharply curtail the amount of football that can get played there. At this point, too, there's no feasible plan for managing what could well be a traffic nightmare on game days. Crowds are estimated to reach as high as 10,000 people at a facility that isn't especially close to an MBTA stop. And the approval process has certainly been rushed. The proposal has already moved through a series of city reviews -- exactly the kind of insider-driven fast-track process Wu has railed against her entire career. When I talked to her Tuesday, Wu conceded that the project has been unusually speedy, driven by the need to be ready for the 2026 season. But she said she believes this is a "generational" opportunity, and strongly defended her decision to ram it through. The city and Boston United say the renovated facility will get more than three times the use it does now -- it's usually locked up -- with barely 10 percent of that use going to the soccer franchise. "We didn't know that this opportunity would come up for Boston," Wu said. "It was one of those unpredictable opportunities that arose because NWSL decided to award expansion teams. They've made it clear that they aren't intending to add teams every single year. It will be life-changing for our young people to have a women's professional team sharing their home." Wu noted that there has already been a four-year community process to plan much-needed changes to Franklin Park. And she said she believes the challenges of managing traffic, while considerable, aren't insurmountable. She should be held to that. It goes without saying that improving White Stadium -- which I've supported for years -- can't just be to the benefit of a soccer team and its fans. Franklin Park is where three major neighborhoods come together, and what's good for the people who use it every day must be paramount. Renovating White Stadium could be a wonderful thing for Boston Public School students, and killing it because every question hasn't been answered yet would be a tragic mistake. But Franklin Park is Boston Common for people in neighborhoods nowhere near the Common. And their concerns can't be sacrificed for the sake of speed. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The scope of work includes CM at Risk Services to renovate White Stadium in Boston. located at 450 Walnut Ave, Boston, MA 02130. This will be a multi-phased project to include but not limited to new construction of a 5000-seat grandstand, canopy, building, track and field and site improvements to support BPS athletics. (With early demolition East grandstand, track and field and site/utility packages) In April of 2023 the City issued and subsequently accepted an RFP for a lease of the West Grandstand and Southern area of the stadium. The design and construction of which is not included in this scope of work and will happen simultaneously to the East Grandstand and Track and Field construction. Substantial completion of the project is estimated to be in January 2026 and final completion in March of 2026 for an opening day game in March of 2026. Expected contract duration will be for approximately two (2) years. The estimated cost of construction is approximately $46,000,000.00. *The value for this project is based on a financial range. The value is listed as the highest possible cost from the range provided by a stakeholder or official project document.