BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Mayoral candidate Josh Kraft held a press conference in Franklin Park to discuss the White Stadium renovation project.
These renovations will lead to the co-use of the stadium by Boston Public School kids and the professional women’s soccer team, Boston Legacy FC.
The project initially was approved as a $50 million city expense before costs increased to $91 million last December. Kraft, however, said that he believes the final costs will be even higher.
“The mayor insisted $91 million was, and I quote, in the ballpark,” he said. “We have learned that internal city estimates, not shared with the public, have the taxpayer costs of this project at over 170 million dollars.”
Kraft spoke about his disappointment in Mayor Michelle Wu’s office for what he felt was funding mismanagement.
“The single largest item in the BPS capital budget is funding for White Stadium,” he said. “This is a catastrophic failure of city management.”
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He also added that he felt the funds could be spent better without the pro-soccer team making the stadium their home.
“For half the price Mayor Wu is paying to provide the Boston Unity partners with a 10,000 seat stadium, the city could refurbish White Stadium for the exclusive use of BPS kids, as well as start the long awaited rehab projects at Madison park high school and the O’Bryant School.”
A city spokesperson responded to our request for a comment, saying, “The City is still in the process of completing the design plans for both the East and West Grandstands, which must be completed before going to bid, and incorporating the impacts of new federal policies. Boston Unity Soccer Partners is responsible for more than half of the construction project and will pay the full cost of operating and maintaining the facility during the entire term of the lease.”
WBZ NewsRadio’s Shari Small (@ShariSmallNews) reports.