{"id":385013,"date":"2026-01-03T05:47:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T05:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/385013\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T05:47:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T05:47:10","slug":"environmental-groups-praise-raise-concerns-over-proposed-everett-soccer-stadium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/385013\/","title":{"rendered":"Environmental groups praise, raise concerns over proposed Everett soccer stadium"},"content":{"rendered":"

The agreements<\/a> the Kraft Group struck with the cities of Boston and Everett this week come with millions of dollars to mitigate the impact that the proposed 25,000-seat soccer stadium will have on local residents. Environmental advocates are praising the initial package of commitments for the planned new home for the New England Revolution, but say there\u2019s a lot of work ahead in the permitting process.<\/p>\n

To reduce car traffic and congestion, the current stadium plans call for only 75 spaces for on-site parking. But observers say that also puts pressure on public transit to get fans to the venue.<\/p>\n

Brad Campbell, CEO of the Conservation Law Foundation said the state will need to do more in particular to offset the impact on Boston\u2019s Sullivan Square, which is the nearest major transit hub and will bear the brunt of fans heading to the stadium. Campbell called the infrastructure needs in that area \u201chuge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to make sure that those benefits aren\u2019t outweighed by deterioration of air quality and even more misery for commuters and motorists traversing the Sullivan Square area,\u201d Campbell told GBH News.<\/p>\n

He thinks a good reference point is the mitigation agreement struck with Wynn Resorts to build its Encore Boston Harbor casino in Everett, which is next door to the proposed stadium site. That agreement<\/a> included money for improvements to Sullivan Square but few dispute the area is still a traffic-clogged mess.<\/p>\n

Few details have been released, but commitments announced so far include $5 million from Kraft for improvements to Sullivan Square infrastructure before the stadium opens, and another $5 million over 15 years. Kraft has also committed to help fund a new entrance to the MBTA\u2019s Assembly station in Somerville to connect the Orange Line to an already planned pedestrian bridge over the Mystic River to Everett.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the 43-acre site itself, which contains a shuttered power station: the former Mystic Generating Station along the Mystic River.<\/p>\n

While Kraft has agreed to dedicate roughly $100 million towards the environmental cleanup of the site, the current owners are already legally obligated to address contaminated soil and groundwater, according to federal and state guidelines.<\/p>\n

Outgoing Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria is confident the stadium will transform a dirty industrial site into a public asset. The city was home to several other brownfield sites like the former Monsanto plant where the Encore casino now stands. DeMaria said this latest project shows his \u201ccommitment to tackling the most contaminated sites\u201d in the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a blank slate. It is a former power plant, and cleaning it up matters,\u201d DeMaria said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Patrick Herron, Executive Director at the Mystic River Watershed Association said his organization will be watching closely as the project proceeds through a mandatory state process<\/a> for environmental review.<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably of greatest environmental and public health interest for everybody should be the demolition of the site,\u201d said Patrick Herron, \u201cDemolition can mobilize dust and debris in a way that would be more likely to impact people than once the construction starts and the capping of the material starts.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Kraft organization has not yet submitted its initial environmental filings to the state, and did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

According to a preliminary agreement<\/a> between Kraft and Everett, four acres of the site will be dedicated to publicly-available open space, including a waterfront path and a dock for accessing the Mystic River.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

An artist’s rendering of the proposed waterfront walkway for the Kraft Group’s Everett stadium project <\/p>\n

\n The Kraft Group\n <\/p>\n

Herron is excited at the prospect of a public waterfront park, which he said will \u201copen people\u2019s eyes\u201d to the value of the Mystic River.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s home to one of the largest river herring runs in Massachusetts. And investing in this park can improve climate resilience and provide public access where it\u2019s been missing for so many years,\u201d Herron said.<\/p>\n

He encouraged Everett residents to take advantage of the opportunity to help design the new waterfront park.<\/p>\n

In a statement to GBH News, Governor Maura Healey said she expects the stadium will have \u201cwidespread\u201d economic impacts for the city, the region and the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur administration is committed to working with all parties to ensure this project is a success,\u201d Healey said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The agreements the Kraft Group struck with the cities of Boston and Everett this week come with millions…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":385014,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-385013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/385014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}