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Boston Globe

‘The right thing to do.' White Stadium supporters talk up advantages of city's rehab plan.

Some held signs: 'Build it for the students!' 'Repair the ruins! Restore the Park!' 'BPS Parents for Franklin Park!' Advertisement The news conference is the latest development in the saga about the White Stadium rebuild, which has become a political football in the ongoing mayoral race. Last month, Boston He Wu rejected that claim, saying the $170 million number 'does not reflect anything that's grounded in reality,' though she acknowledged it is based on an internal, 'worst-case' cost projection. Advertisement The plan for the stadium has been met with mixed reaction locally. Proponents have lauded the badly needed improvements to the facility, which had fallen into disrepair, and access for Boston Public Schools student-athletes and the Franklin Park community, as well as the positive impact of a women's professional soccer team playing in a public facility. But there also has been plenty of pushback from opponents who say a professional soccer stadium is not the right fit for the location. They have concerns about the impact of the project on the park and the surrounding areas. On Wednesday, proponents of the stadium rebuild reiterated what they considered to be advantages of the plan, while portraying the opposition to it as small, vocal, and well-financed. 'We are really frustrated by the negative attention that this project has been getting, and we believe it's a very small group that is against the project,' said Christine Poff of the Franklin Park Coalition. 'A very loud group. very wealthy and very well funded.' She was referencing the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, a nonprofit park stewardship group that in recent weeks continued its legal challenge of the project, filing a notice of appeal with Massachusetts Appeals Court. In front of the stadium Wednesday, Nancy Lessin, who has lived nearby on Park Lane since the late 1980s, took exception to Poff's characterization of the opposition to the plan. 'I'm funded by nobody,' said Lessin, who has four grandchildren in the city's public schools and walks her Australian labradoodle, Tigger, at least twice a day in the park. Advertisement Lessin has ongoing environmental, health, and security concerns about the construction project, she said. 'There are many, many issues,' she said. 'I don't want to be characterized as someone who doesn't want things for the Boston public schools. I do.' Lessin disagreed with the notion that the city was transparent regarding the project, saying city officials have failed to answer questions of her regarding the stadium overhaul for months. 'The city has been not transparent at all,' she said. 'Not at all.' Poff, who pointed out there were about 60 community meetings regarding the White Stadium project, responded: 'I've had a different experience.' She also dismissed an alternative proposal supported by the conservancy that would see White Stadium refurbished into a The conservancy, in a statement, said it was proud to stand with a number of other groups, including the NAACP Boston, 'who support a significantly more affordable, fully-public stadium renovation that would meet the needs of BPS students and the community, without the many flaws of a massive new private soccer stadium.' 'Experts agree that a high school stadium should not cost anywhere near $100 million, and our community deserves a truly public stadium renovation that respects the state's strong environmental protection laws,' read the statement. 'With Boston Legacy playing their first season at Gillette Stadium, there is still ample time to collaborate on a better path forward.' At Wednesday's news conference, Rickie Thompson, president of the Franklin Park Coalition, called the ongoing proposal to renovate the stadium 'the right thing to do.' Thompson walks the park every day and said the planned overhaul of the stadium that allow it to play host to a professional women's soccer team would bring with it economic benefits to a part of the city sorely needs it. Advertisement Jacob Bor, who also serves on the Franklin Park Coalition board of directors, said the deal for the new stadium includes 'major wins' community, including funding mechanisms that will help maintain and preserve the park, increased public and school access to the space, and a schedule that will protect and respect big annual events held in the park such as Juneteenth and a kite and bike festival. A refurbished White Stadium could 'uplift' the entire park, he said. 'This is a park that's received very low public investment for over 50 years,' he said. Tony DaRocha, a retired Boston Public Schools teacher and local track coach, concurred, saying White Stadium has not been kept up. 'Why,' he asked, 'should our kids be deprived of facilities that are world class?' Danny McDonald can be reached at