Re “City gives soccer team more time for stadium financing,” Business, Aug. 8:
I think Michelle Wu has been a terrific mayor for Boston, and if I still lived in the city I would certainly vote for her reelection.
She does, however, appear to have a blind spot when it comes to women’s soccer. She wants the city to share in the expense of making the former White Stadium into an 11,000-seat professional sports complex for a women’s soccer team that has yet to play a game. The team is also responsible for a share of the financing. Quite aside from the many still unanswered questions regarding game-day crowds in this residential neighborhood remains the issue of the project’s ever-increasing cost.
Her argument is that this is an opportunity to share the cost of a new stadium for Boston’s schoolkids. But it’s not clear why Boston’s schoolkids need an 11,000-seat stadium. Imagine playing football in a mostly empty stadium. It seems as though she is supporting the cost of a stadium that is more than the schoolkids really need, and sharing it with Boston Legacy Football Club, which will be borrowing money to help pay for it. It’s no wonder the club has not yet finalized that loan, since we’re informed that the city does not yet even know how much the project will cost.
I certainly hope the club succeeds, but if it does it may well want an even larger stadium in the future — like the one being built in Everett for our other professional soccer team. Will the club still be willing to support the new White Stadium? And if it does not succeed, will the club be able to pay back its loan and meet whatever financial obligation it may have to support the new stadium?
Mayor Wu, please ask yourself if this really a good offer for Boston’s schoolkids and for the city.
Stephen Polit
Belmont
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