Plans to create a new stadium for Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution has raised concerns by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu regarding the venue’s impact on local traffic.
WCVB reports the new 25,000-seat stadium would be constructed on the site of a defunct power plant in Everett, a city directly north of Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood. The stadium’s location requires an agreement from Boston and Everett with the Kraft Group, the team’s owner.
On Monday, Wu complained at a press conference that the Kraft Group – which is run by Robert Kraft, also the owner of the New England Patriots – has been evasive regarding the stadium’s impact on Charlestown’s residents and on traffic in the neighborhood.
“To this day, the Kraft Group has provided the city with no meaningful technical information,” Wu said. “What we’ve heard has stayed at the conceptual level. That is insufficient for any serious negotiation.”
Wu noted the Kraft Group offered Boston $750,000 in mitigation, but she rejected the offer while cracking a joke against Kraft’s son Josh Kraft, who is challenging her in the city’s mayoral primary.
“$750,000 is just one-and-a-half month’s of a billionaire son’s allowance,” Wu said. “It is an unserious proposal. This Kraft Group offer does not come close to reflecting the strain the stadium would place on our infrastructure, our transportation systems, and on our neighborhoods.”
Brian Bilello, president of the Revolution, Brian Bilello, did not address Wu’s comments.
“All I know is that the Revs are going into this whole process with the goal of getting the stadium done with great deals for Boston, great deals for Everett and a great asset for the community,” Bilello said. “Our team has met with the city over half a dozen times. The tenor has been cooperative and cordial, so you can understand why it’s upsetting and frustrating that the only thing being said about these meetings publicly is negative.”
Boston and Everett officials have until December to reach an agreement on the stadium; a failure to reach consensus will drive the issue into arbitration.
