Everett leaders, Kraft group seek public input on proposed waterfront soccer stadium and community benefits

Mayor Carlo de Maria convened a crowded public meeting in Everett to gather residents’ priorities for a proposed professional soccer stadium on a contaminated waterfront parcel that state legislation in 2024 made possible by temporarily removing it from the Mystic designated port area.

The meeting brought together state and city officials, Robert and Jonathan Kraft and representatives of the New England Revolution to explain the project status and listen to community suggestions for a host community agreement — the negotiated package of local benefits, protections and mitigation that would accompany a major development.

“This meeting is to get your ideas and opinions about what the community benefits that you would like a project like this to bring to the community,” Mayor Carlo de Maria said at the start of the meeting. Senator De Domenico told attendees the project could turn a long-closed industrial waterfront into public access and economic opportunity: “We are gonna turn the page on our industrial past on our waterfront because we deserve better in this community.”

Robert Kraft and Jonathan Kraft described the proposal as a privately financed stadium and related waterfront park they expect would require remediation and demolition of the defunct power plant on the site. Robert Kraft said the family has privately funded stadium projects before and emphasized community partnership; Jonathan Kraft added the group wants the waterfront park to be “open every day of the year, regardless of whether there’s an event in the stadium or not.”

Brian Bilello, identified as president of the New England Revolution, said the removal from the designated port area has allowed public discussion to proceed but cautioned that “nothing has been approved yet.” He outlined the approval path the project would face: negotiation of a community-host agreement with Everett (and separate talks with the City of Boston), state-level environmental review under MEPA, Chapter 91 waterfront permitting, city permitting, demolition and environmental remediation, then construction and operations if approvals are obtained. Bilello and team staff showed renderings and said preliminary siting work suggests a stadium of roughly 23,000–25,000 seats could fit on the site, with concerts and other events increasing capacity to about 29,000–30,000.

Public-comment speakers pressed for specific, enforceable benefits and protections in the host community agreement. Recurring requests included:

- Local jobs and workforce pipelines: multiple speakers urged a commitment that Everett residents — including high-school youth and local small businesses — receive first access to construction and operations jobs. Developer representatives described an intent to prioritize Everett residents but did not specify a binding percentage.

- Transportation and parking: residents questioned the plan for only about 75 on-site parking spaces mentioned during the meeting and urged robust, funded transit improvements, clearer drop-off and rideshare staging, off-site parking/park-and-ride arrangements and pedestrian/bicycle connections (including a proposed underpass linking the Northern Strand Bike Trail). The Lower Mystic Transportation Management Association asked that trip-planning options be integrated with ticket sales so attendees can plan transit or water access in advance.

- Public safety and municipal costs: commenters asked for stationing or funding for police and fire resources, and for the host agreement to include the cost of personnel and equipment required to respond to events.

- Environmental mitigation and cleanup: speakers highlighted the site's contamination and urged that remediation be completed and that the project include measures to limit littering and single-use plastic at events, as well as native-plant landscaping in the park. One attendee said the Kraft group had committed about $17 million for remediation; city staff later clarified public matching funds and other partners could participate in cleanup and infrastructure funding.

- Community access and programming: residents requested guaranteed access for Everett schools and nonprofits (for example, high-school graduations, youth clinics, community festivals), scholarships, and vendor opportunities to benefit Everett small businesses. Several speakers asked that concessions be paid positions, not volunteer-run, to protect local paid job opportunities.

Mayor de Maria said the city will continue meetings and that staff are preparing a draft host community agreement informed by comments collected at this meeting. He emphasized the number of approval steps remaining and said final terms are subject to negotiation and state permitting. No formal votes or agreements were taken at the meeting.

The city and project representatives identified next procedural steps: negotiate a host community agreement with the developer and Revolution, complete state environmental review (MEPA) and Chapter 91 processes for waterfront development, secure city permits, plan demolition and remediation of the existing power plant, and return to the public with further meetings and draft agreement language.

Residents asked the city to consider a binding local-hire requirement, clearer transit financing and schedules aligned with construction, explicit funding for public-safety staffing and equipment, enforceable guarantees for school and nonprofit access, and independent review of projected tax and economic impacts. Several speakers also urged the city to place the proposal on the ballot for a public referendum; elected officials said that option could be raised but noted elected leaders are empowered to negotiate agreements on behalf of residents.

The meeting closed with the mayor saying staff would compile comments from the session into a draft host community agreement and continue outreach; attendees were invited to submit additional suggestions by email. No formal commitments, votes or finalized terms were recorded at this meeting.