Boston Legacy Football Club disclosed on Tuesday that it has received the financing it needs to build its portion of White Stadium in Franklin Park, which the team hopes will be its new home as soon as 2027.
Legacy FC said it has closed on debt financing from Bank of America that will provide more than $100 million toward the project. The city of Boston is paying for and building roughly half of the project, essentially replacing the stadium’s demolished east grandstand, while Legacy is rebuilding the west grandstand and making other improvements.
The financing represents an important victory for Mayor Michelle Wu, who has staked considerable political capital on delivering a rebuilt White Stadium that can be shared by the city’s public school athletes and the pro team. On Tuesday, Wu called it a “landmark financing agreement” that would allow the stadium to be available to students and the public for at least 345 days a year.
Wu has faced criticism for cost overruns on the project, as well as from neighbors to the park that are unhappy with it. A lawsuit to block it is immediately slated to be heard by the state Appeals Court, after a Superior Court judge sided with the city and the team. (Mayoral challenger Josh Kraft tried to turn White Stadium into a major campaign issue, but he withdrew last week after Wu beat him handily in a preliminary election.)
Wu still has not released a final budget for the city’s share, though it is expected to exceed $100 million.
The Wu administration had originally set an Aug. 1 financing deadline in a legal document signed with Legacy controlling manager Jennifer Epstein in December, when Legacy agreed to a redevelopment lease for the west grandstand area of the crumbling stadium. (It’s immediately mostly demolished in preparation for the construction project.)
The team, which will play its first season next year in Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, had trouble closing its bank financing by the Aug. 1 deadline, so city and school officials gave the team an extra six weeks to pull it off — establishing Sept. 15 as the new deadline.
The team said it expects to begin the next phase of construction in November. It has already spent about $5 million of the $25 million that it put in an escrow account for the project, including for structural support for a historic wall that was kept intact throughout the demolition process. Able Co., led by Epstein’s husband Bill Keravuori, is the project’s lead developer.
“As part of our lease, we will cover the full cost to operate and maintain White Stadium for decades to come, supporting [Boston Public Schools] athletics and ensuring this facility remains a meaningful public resource in Franklin Park,” Epstein said in a statement. “We’re proud to be moving forward with financing from Bank of America to realize White Stadium’s restored future.”
The stadium project will include a new grass field, an eight-lane track, new electric infrastructure, and public restrooms. Legacy and Able are also building a $27 million practice facility in Brockton. The team plans to move its games from Gillette to White Stadium in 2027, if construction does not fall behind schedule.
Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him @jonchesto.
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