Public transit, traffic, parking: Charlestown residents share concerns, priorities with Wu over proposed Everett stadium
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'We have to leverage the stadium for what it is, we have to leverage it for fixing the road systems,' said one resident.
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Speaking to the crowd Tuesday, Wu emphasized the importance of public input as her administration bargains over what benefits the Kraft Group will agree to provide Boston residents in order to get the city's sign off on the project.
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'We need to make sure that the community that's most impacted by this proposal is right here with us, sharing what you're thinking, how you're feeling, how the other impacts that are already happening in the neighborhood have to be factored in,' Wu said.
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While the project site, currently a shuttered power plant, is located in Everett, much of the traffic that would flow to the proposed stadium for games, concerts, and other events would go through Charlestown, just across the Mystic River from the 43-acre site. Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria has been in conversations with the Kraft Group over the proposal, and signed a preliminary agreement with the team in November 2023. But state lawmakers included Boston in the legislation passed in November, in response to concerns that the Wu administration was left out of those discussions.
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Wu has argued the stadium, which currently only includes plans for about 75 parking spots, would have a significant impact on Charlestown, particularly on its transportation infrastructure and increased traffic at the Sullivan Square MBTA station. City officials at Tuesday's meeting said the administration is prioritizing securing investments related to transportation, open space, coastal resilience, and benefits for local businesses and the community, in the mitigation agreement.
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State Representative Daniel J. Ryan and state Senator Sal DiDomenico, both Democrats who represent Charlestown on Beacon Hill, also attended the meeting, along with Boston City Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, whose district includes Charlestown.
The Globe previously reported that negotiations between the Revs and the city of Boston have gotten off to a tense start as a state-imposed deadline looms. The preliminary agreement DeMaria signed with the Kraft Group only includes an offer of $750,000 for improvements to Charlestown athletic fields. The Wu administration called that an inadequate starting point, particularly when taking into account a $68 million deal the city reached with the nearby Encore Boston Harbor casino nine years ago.
According to the statewide legislation passed in November, the two sides must come to a deal by May 1, at which point a mediator would get involved. If the parties don't come to an agreement by Dec. 31, it'll go to an arbitration panel.
But on Tuesday, Wu said she didn't have much of an update on those discussions to share with residents.
'Things really haven't kicked off very much in terms of substantive conversations, because there really hasn't been that much to discuss from the project proponents: We haven't really seen specific details,' Wu said. 'To this date, I still have not gotten a call from the Krafts. ... There's been just radio silence.'
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Wu added that her team has had two meetings with the Kraft Group, and conversations are continuing, but her administration is waiting on more details. In the meantime, they intend to take community feedback and use that to inform what benefits the city pushes for in the agreement.
'I am not sold on a soccer stadium for the sake of soccer stadium,' Wu said. 'I would welcome this one, if we can get the transportation impacts right, if we can get them again to sign a legally binding agreement that does right by Charlestown residents and Boston residents. I hope we can get there.'
A representative for the Kraft Group and the New England Revolution did not immediately return the Globe's request for comment.
Longtime philanthropist Josh Kraft, the third son of Patriots and Revs' owner Robert Kraft, is challenging Wu as she runs for reelection this year. Kraft has said he would recuse himself from any negotiations involving his family's businesses should he become mayor of Boston.
Wu, speaking on GBH's 'Boston Public Radio' Tuesday morning had a more curt response when asked what she would do in Kraft's position.
'I would stay working for my father,' she said.
Jon Chesto of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
Niki Griswold can be reached at
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