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Boston's Morning Newsletter
The White Stadium lawsuit trial kicks off Tuesday. Here's what to know
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
Today marks 35 years since the infamous Gardner Museum heist. WBUR’s Andrea Shea has more on how the museum is marking the anniversary, as those (recently restored) Dutch Room frames continue to hang empty. You can also listen to the first season of our podcast Last Seen for the inside story on the world’s most confounding and valuable art heist.
Now, to the news:
Stoppage time: The legal trial over Boston’s White Stadium project begins in Suffolk County Superior Court today. As WBUR’s Rachell Sanchez-Smith reports, the plan to renovate the decrepit stadium to be the home of a new Boston-based National Women’s Soccer League team has divided neighbors, city councilors and students. While the project’s rising costs have grabbed the early spotlight in this year’s mayoral race, today’s arguments will center over esoteric procedural complaints raised by the stadium opponents’ lawsuit. Here’s what to know:
- Who’s behind the lawsuit? The effort is being led by the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, a nonprofit founded in 1997 to conserve Frederick Law Olmsted’s famous park system. (However, an older nonprofit focused on Franklin Park supports the project.) Twenty individuals, mostly neighbors, have also signed on to the suit.
- What’s their argument? The lawsuit claims the city and the group behind the new NWSL team, Boston Unity Partners, violated something called Article 97. That’s a section of the state Constitution, approved by voters in 1972, that requires a vote by the State House before redeveloping public park land. (No such vote has occurred.) The lawsuit also argues Boston’s lease of the stadium to the team violates a provision of the George Robert White Fund — the will that financed the stadium over 75 years ago — that seems to prohibit certain public-private partnerships.
- What’s the counterargument? First, the city argues Article 97 does not apply White Stadium. That’s because the stadium — despite being located in Franklin Park — is not technically a park, but a property owned by Boston Public Schools, according to the city. Second, they argue the project doesn’t violate White’s will, since the upgraded stadium will primarily be used by BPS student-athletes for sports like track and football. (Legal documents limit the pro women’s team to 20 games and 20 practices a year.)
- What to expect: One Suffolk Superior Court judge has already sided with the city and allowed demolition work to begin in January. The trial is expected to take up to two weeks.
- In related news: Boston Unity Partners announced Friday that it will ditch the widely despised “BOS Nation FC” moniker and reveal a new name in the coming weeks. (In the meantime, it’s going with “Coming Soon FC” on social media and trying to sell off all that BOS Nation merch as collector’s items.)
After affirmative action: Harvard is joining the growing list of schools offering free tuition for students from lower-income — and even upper-middle-class — households. The school announced yesterday that students whose families make less than $200,000 a year will not have to pay tuition. And those from households making less than $100,000 a year will get a fully free ride, covering tuition, fees, room and board, and travel costs. The new program — which mirrors what Harvard’s neighbor down the river recently announced — will take effect this fall with the start of the 2025-26 school year.
In other Ivy League news:
- Brown University is advising all students and employees with green cards or visas against international travel after recent deportations of people with legal U.S. residency.
- Yale might be worth picking in your March Madness bracket.
On Beacon Hill: The House and Senate have agreed to (again) allow virtual or hybrid government meetings until at least the summer of 2027. The pandemic-era laws are currently set to expire at the end of this month, but the House moved yesterday to push that date back to June 30, 2027 — and the Senate plans to follow suit on Thursday.
- Supporters say remote access boosts civic participation, especially for those with disabilities. Senate President Karen Spilka said her chamber plans to work on a permanent remote meeting law, so the State House doesn’t have to keep doing this every two years.
P.S.— With rain in the forecast later this week, keep the boredom at bay with our staffers’ picks for places to have fun with friends indoors. All you have to do is sign up for another one of our newsletters with this link before March 21 and we’ll email you our go-to spots.
