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Dubbed the Franklin Park Defenders, the group said they’re standing up to what they say is “unconstitutional privatization of a historic public stadium.” A judge says the City’s plan can go forward.

An environmental nonprofit suing the City of Boston will continue to fight against the renovation of White Stadium after a judge denied the group’s request to halt its development last month, the group said at a press conference this week.

Earlier this year, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy along with 20 residents filed a lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court against the city, local officials, and the Boston Unity Soccer Partners over the planned revitalization of White Stadium to host professional women’s soccer games. 

Last month, a judge denied the group’s request to halt the plan because, while the public stadium will benefit both Boston Public Schools and a private company, the stadium was never directly mandated as a solely public place. 

“No clear or unequivocal intent to use the Stadium Property as a public park, rather than for use as school property, has been established,” the judge wrote. “In contrast, the intent associated with the land, to build a stadium for use by BPS, was explicitly recorded as such.” 

Under the proposal, White Stadium would host about 20 NWSL games and 20 practice sessions annually, from April to November. The stadium would be available for BPS sporting events and other events like graduation ceremonies, summer camps, fundraisers, and concerts when it is not being used by the pro team. 

Franklin Park Defenders filed lawsuit in February to fight development

Dubbed the Franklin Park Defenders, the group said they’re standing up to what they say is “unconstitutional privatization of a historic public stadium.” At a press conference on Tuesday, they said they’ll continue to fight for a “community-first renovation” for the stadium, which has been used by Boston Public Schools since 1949.

“When the judge decided not to support us, I cried, because yet again, people are telling us that we don’t matter,” said plaintiff Renee Stacey Welch, a lifelong resident of the Franklin Park area, at the press conference, The Boston Globe reported. “But we’re gonna keep fighting because that’s the right thing to do.”

The stadium is in major disrepair. Mayor Michelle Wu, who’s named as a defendant in the suit, turned to a public-private partnership to fund the project after a $45 million renovation plan lost steam in 2013.

The public-private partnership will bring $80 million to White Stadium. The city is contributing $50 million, and BUSP will add $30 million. (Boston Globe Media CEO Linda Henry is an investor in BUSP. Boston.com is part of Boston Globe Media.)

In a statement, a BUSP spokesperson said the renovation will triple the hours available for BPS students.

“There is no legal basis to challenge this public-private-community partnership to revitalize White Stadium,” BUSP spokesperson Kevin Flight said in a statement to Boston.com. “The Emerald Necklace Conservancy’s sentiments are not consistent with the feedback we’ve heard from neighbors, civic leaders, community groups and elected officials in our more than 180 meetings and conversations since starting the process over a year and a half ago.”

On their website, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy said the students and community will be “displaced” from White Stadium more than half of the Saturdays from late March to early November. The soccer team is scheduled to begin in 2026.

The Emerald Necklace said they support a full renovation and redevelopment of White Stadium, but the current plans has “alarmed” the community.

“We are deeply committed to supporting the residents of all the Necklace’s neighborhoods,” the group shared on X. “Our neighborhoods of Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan ARE Franklin Park, and for decades they stewarded Franklin Park when the City of Boston did not.”

The full plan for the White Stadium redevelopment would replace the track, rebuild a grandstand, and include a BPS athletics hub.