With costs expected to climb to more than $100M, Mayor Wu prioritizes stadium to benefit wealthy private investors over needs of BPS kids

BOSTON, MA – In his most recent Substack piece, Josh Kraft addresses yet another failed campaign promise of Mayor Wu – promising a “Green New Deal” for schools, and instead is delivering “a raw deal for BPS kids and taxpayers” of Boston.

“In her recently released capital budget for Boston Public Schools, Mayor Wu made it clear her top priority is the construction of a 10,000-seat professional soccer stadium for the primary benefit of wealthy private owners over money for Madison Park Vo-Tech High School or other much needed infrastructure improvements in the city’s public schools.

And while the mayor regularly talks about her commitment to supporting public schools, listening to communities of color, championing the environment, and practicing sound fiscal leadership, it is worthwhile to look at what she’s actually doing at White Stadium.

Putting a 10,000 Seat Pro Soccer Stadium First

When Mayor Wu ran three years ago, she pledged to spend more than $2 billion to overhaul Boston’s deteriorating school facilities – she called it a “Green New Deal for Boston Public Schools.” A year in, the effort was poised to build or renovate upwards of 14 schools.

She said, “Our young people see that every day in the feelings they have when they enter buildings where you can see water stains on the ceiling tiles, or shades that don’t properly work, or windows that are sticky to open. And we’re seeing that has built and reinforces mistrust between the city and the community we are here to serve.”

How times change.

By the time the mayor released her FY26 Boston Public Schools capital budget a few weeks ago, many of these schools remained untouched. In fact, Mayor Wu’s budget dedicates zero dollars next year for renovations for the Madison Park Technical Vocational High School and the O’Bryant School of Math and Science.

What the mayor did include was $67 million for White Stadium – the massive 10,000 seat professional soccer stadium BPS students will only be able to access on a part time basis.

As amazing as it sounds, the single largest item in the entire BPS capital budget is funding for White Stadium, which comes in addition to the $20 million the city has already spent for a professional style soccer stadium that includes things BPS kids will never use like a beer garden and a 12-month-per-year high end restaurant.

Mayor Wu values what Boston Unity Partners wants more than what BPS kids need. And the evidence is right there in her budget.

Refusing to “Hand the Keys Over to Billionaires” … By Giving Them $100M During a Budget Crisis

Mayor Wu regularly takes to the stump to criticize those who “hand the keys over to billionaires” when deciding public policy. But when it comes to the wealthy owners of Boston Unity Partners, that is exactly what she’s doing.

While the Mayor Wu claims that White Stadium is about helping BPS kids, the public record shows that was never the case. In October of 2022, Mayor Wu wrote to the head of the National Women’s Soccer League that, “I have empowered every department in my cabinet to work closely with the applicants to identify the best location for a state-of-the-art facility.”

The location turned out to be White Stadium, where Mayor Wu and her administration then allowed Boston Unity Partners to write the RFP, to which – you guessed it – Boston Unity Partners ended up the only applicant.

The mayor’s cozy relationship with Boston Unity Partners also speaks to her stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Despite proposing what she described as “the most responsible budget possible,” the mayor has prioritized hundreds of millions in taxpayer money for the benefit of a private interest over much needed public investments.

For example, the $100 plus million in taxpayer funds that she has pledged for White Stadium (recent talk is that the city’s internal estimates are now north of $140 million) could be used to rebuild Madison Park and the O’Bryant School or solve our housing crisis or provide tax relief for seniors.

Not to mention that for the price Mayor Wu is paying to provide the Boston Unity Partners with a 10,000-seat stadium BPS, the city could make these other investments and refurbish White Stadium for the exclusive use of BPS kids. The Emerald Necklace Conservancy has produced a plan that would refurbish White Stadium for the exclusive use of BPS kids for $29 million. In Lowell, Cawley Memorial Stadium was recently remodeled to feature a cutting-edge student athletic training center that athletes of all stripes can use throughout the year. The cost? About $8 million – or about 7% of what White Stadium will cost taxpayers.

Advancing Environmental Justice … By Privatizing & Razing Public Park Space

Since running for office, Mayor Wu has frequently spoken about the need to advance environmental justice, by “lift[ing] up the voices, ideas and power of historically marginalized communities into processes for setting agendas and implementing policies.”

Yet at White Stadium she’s done precisely the opposite. More than one writer has noted whether park land in any other part of Boston would be “given up so readily to privatization.”

Since cutting its deal with Boston Unity Partners with virtually no outside input, the project has ripped some 145 trees out of the ground. Just as we’ve recently seen with the Mayor’s “renovation” of Copley Square Park, which replaced historic green space with what appears to be something that resemble a skateboard park, the plan to renovate White Stadium will raze two acres of green space in the heart of an environmental justice community.

After decades of disinvestment in the Franklin Park neighborhood, the community deserves better than a mayor that razes their land and gives it away to private interests.

Talking About Leadership Vs. Doing the Work

In my 35-years of working in the Boston community—providing robust services and building state-of-the-art facilities that give kids real opportunities to succeed—I have always believed that what you say you will do as a leader—and what you end up delivering—matters.

If you say you are going to invest in rebuilding crumbling schools, you need to actually do it.

If you say environmental justice is a priority, you need to actually show it.

And if you say you are fiscally responsible, your budget should actually reflect it.

Just like many of her other campaign promises, Mayor Wu has gone from a promising a Green New Deal for Boston Public Schools three years ago to delivering a raw deal for BPS kids and taxpayers today.

For more about Josh, please visit: https://joshforboston.com/

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