Kraft Decries Use of Taxpayer Dollars to Fund 50% of Beer Garden, Four Season Restaurant and Excess Seats

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BOSTON, MA – Josh Kraft, candidate for Mayor of Boston, today called on Mayor Wu to cancel the city’s lease with Boston Unity Partners until a use analysis is conducted and made public that focuses solely on the needs of Boston Public Schools students. Kraft also reiterated his call for Mayor Wu to stop all demolition at the stadium until the outstanding litigation is resolved, and called on Wu to tell the taxpayers who will pay for the demolition and restoration work should the legal challenges be successful.

“Mayor Wu’s actions are a massive failure of leadership and fiscal stewardship,” said Josh Kraft. “It makes no sense for the city to be committing over $100 million in taxpayer dollars at White Stadium at a time when the city is increasing taxes on homeowners and delaying other more important priorities — like the renovation of Madison Park High School.”

“It should be alarming to everyone that a use analysis focused specifically on the needs of BPS kids was never conducted,” Josh stated. “If Mayor Wu was concerned about BPS kids, she would have determined how large a stadium is needed to serve BPS kids, what surface would serve them the best, how much time field time is needed, and what amenities — locker rooms, medical/training rooms, etc. — would be needed by BPS athletes and priced that out. Unfortunately, this basic analysis doesn’t appear to have ever been done.”

“Mayor Wu should immediately take steps to reset this process so that the needs of Boston Public School students and the taxpayers are put before the interests of the wealthy private investors,” said Josh. “The secretive and rigged RFP process the mayor engaged in has produced a bad deal for BPS kids, the surrounding communities, and the city’s taxpayers.”

Josh today called on Mayor Wu to take the following steps:

1. Stop any further demolition at White Stadium until litigation is resolved. The scheduled court date is March 18.

2. Tell the taxpayers of Boston who is on the hook for demolition costs and restoration costs should the litigation be successful.

3. Hire an outside expert to conduct a baseline study focused on the needs of Boston Public Students that would determine the maximum number of seats needed for BPS games, the amenities needed by BPS student athletes – locker rooms, medical/training rooms, a comparison of the difference between turf vs natural grass, and community access to facility and determine what that would cost.

4. Cancel the current lease until the use study is completed, and if the legal process allows for the project to go forward, renegotiate a new lease that requires Boston Unity Partners to pay for 100% of the costs for excess seats, the beer garden, the 12 month a year restaurant and any other amenities that do not serve BPS kids.

For more information about Josh, visit www.joshforboston.com

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Media Contact:
Eileen O’Connor
eileen@joshforboston.com
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