Mayor DeMaria gathers feedback from residents on community benefits agreement for potential stadium project

The Mayor was joined by Robert Kraft, Josh Kraft, Senator Sal DiDomenico and a representative of the New England Revolution

By Neil Zolot

New England Revolution soccer team owners Robert and Jonathan Kraft made their long-awaited appearances at a community meeting about their soccer stadium proposal for the team, at the Connolly Center on Wednesday, April 30. The proposed location is a 43.1-acre parcel on Alford Street across Lower Broadway from the casino and across the Mystic River from Charlestown.

“It’s an honor to be here tonight,” Robert Kraft said. “I’m in my eighth decade living in the state. I love it here and want to do big things here. We have people from out of state that want us, but we want to be here.”

He related a meeting with Mayor Carlo DeMaria convincing him Everett should be the site of a stadium, specifically an unused area on the waterfront. “He had the foresight to tell us we should be here,” Kraft said of DeMaria. “It made an impression on us – a political leader was looking out for the best interests of the community.”

He called the stadium “something that can bring pride, honor and a lot of economic opportunity to Everett. We’re fortunate to be private and can make decisions fast, but try to think long term. We did the stadium in Foxborough private and this would be private, too. I hope this comes to fruition and we can all have pride in it.”

“I wish all politicians were that passionate about their communities,” Jonathan Kraft added about DeMaria.

He also hopes the stadium “will become the heart of the community. The building itself will not only be an economic engine, but a community asset for soccer, football and cheerleading from the High School and Middle School and the first crack at jobs will go to Everett residents. We do that in Foxborough; Foxborough is our partner.”

He also said, “The park will be open 365 days a year and we’ll program all kinds of activities. [State Senator] Sal [DiDomenico] said the waterfront was blocked off since 1897. That was only 121 years since the country was founded in 1776 and it’s been 128 years since 1897. Since the country was founded, the waterfront was cut off for more time than people were allowed to use it.”

In earlier remarks, DiDomenico thanked the Krafts for their commitment to the project. “We’ve turned a page on the past of the industrial waterfront because we deserve better,” he said. “We’ve had to look at the site with no benefits to the community, and pollution was pushed into our neighborhoods. Now we have people who are willing to send hundreds of millions of dollars to turn the site into a state-of-the-art facility for a soccer team to call Everett home. It will be seen on national and international stages. I would not have put my name and reputation on the line if I didn’t think in my heart this is the best use of the land.”

In his opening remarks, DeMaria said, “We need private investment to clean up the site and create a new source of revenue to replace the dirty smokestacks from a now defunct power plant that has defined our community for too long. The federal and state governments were not going to clean up the site. At the local level, we don’t have the resources to, so we had to create an opportunity for a well-financed private party to invest in our City. I believe we can all agree Robert Kraft knows a little something about doing what it takes to create big wins.”

In later comments from residents, David Senatillaka added, “No other developer will do environmental mitigation and cleanup to change this blighted site into something the community can use.”

New England Revolution President Brian Bilello said the stadium would be one of the best in the country if not the world and would host international matches in addition to Revolution games, as well as concerts. “We want to bring the world to Everett,” he said.

He also went over the process of having the designation of the land changed from a Designated Port Area to one under which the stadium could be built, issues siting the stadium in between currently used and abandoned energy facilities and how state, local and environmental regulations will guide the construction. “Can it fit, given all the constraints?” he asked rhetorically. “It’s a tight fit. It can’t be too close to the water because of regulations, but the fact it can’t be gives us a park.”

He pointed out that renderings being shown are “by no means a final design. They’re just enough of a design to let us understand how a stadium could fit, but nothing has been approved yet. We have a lot of work to do, but it has the potential to be a beautiful site, and we’re open to hear what the community wants it to be.”

He also spoke about the impact the stadium could have culturally and economically. “This is not just about a soccer stadium, but a transformational project,” he feels. “When you operate a sports facility, it’s not like another business. It’s great to see the impact a team can have on a community, and I’m excited to see the impact this could have on Everett. The opportunity to be in Everett is special to us. It’s such a vibrant and proud community. That’s where we want to be. Where we’re not just a building, but part of the community. We’d make the facility available for community events.”

Regarding economics, he added, “The casino opened up the waterfront and we could be the next catalyst for future development.”

Posters for the meeting asked residents, “What are the benefits you want to see in a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) for a stadium project?” DeMaria said the focus of the meeting was “not whether the project should advance or not, but to get ideas for community benefits,” unlike discussions at City Council meetings on March 10 and April 14 and a public forum on March 31.

For the most part that’s how it went.

Kelsey Derouen of the Lower Mystic Transportation Management Association said a CBA must take transportation issues into account. She also said she’d like to see bike access to any park. DeMaria answered that efforts are being made to connect it to the Northern Strand Community Trail.

Carl Colson of the sports booster group E Club said stadium facilities should be available for sports banquets as well as games.

Jared Evenson of the Everett Active Transportation Committee acknowledged the wisdom of limited parking and less traffic because of it, but added that there will be more bike and pedestrian traffic as a result. He thinks traffic-calming measures should be introduced and bike lanes protected.

Jeff Parente, who has expressed opposition to the project in the past and said he still opposes it, suggested a ticket surcharge to create a medical trust fund for people in need. “I like that idea,” DeMaria reacted.

Nevertheless, some residents did object to the project. “I don’t want to see this in Everett,” Kathy McNeil said. “It will bring thousands of people flooding onto Everett.”

“That sounds great,” DeMaria reacted.

The City of Everett plans to host more community meetings in the future, so please stay tuned for more information. Those who couldn’t attend the meeting and would like to share their ideas on what to include in the community benefits agreement are asked to email Mayor DeMaria at Ma***@***********ma.us.