The Kraft Group issued strongly worded criticism on Thursday after the Legislature failed to pass a measure before formal sessions ended for the year that could have paved the way for the company to build a 25,000-seat soccer stadium in Everett for the New England Revolution.
Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria and the Kraft Group had been pushing for a measure filed by Senator Sal DiDomenico of Everett that would remove a 43-acre site along the Mystic River from what’s known as a designated port area, a state-regulated zone that only allows marine industrial uses. Moving the property out of the DPA would be the first key step in an estimated $500 million project that would give a local sports team with a growing fan base a new home in the core of Greater Boston.
The measure had become a sticking point between the House and the Senate in negotiations over a broader economic development bill. The Senate included DiDomenico’s measure in its version of the bill, but the House did not. The negotiators failed to reach a deal before formal sessions ended for the year on Thursday morning.
The Krafts have long sought a site in Greater Boston to build a soccer-specific stadium so the New England Revolution can have their own home, instead of sharing Gillette Stadium in Foxborough with the New England Patriots. Their search brought them to this Everett site — home to a shuttered power plant that’s now owned by Wynn Resorts, which operates the Encore Boston Harbor casino across the street.
Now, the Legislature’s inaction leaves the fate of the stadium proposal up in the air.
The Krafts’ statement, issued via a spokesperson, began: “This legislative session, our Commonwealth missed a vital opportunity to clean up a brownfields site for an environmental justice community, robbing the city of Everett and its community of the ability to remove a dilapidated and decommissioned power plant and remediate a site contaminated over the decades and replace it with a public park, water front access, and a privately funded soccer stadium — which was just one piece of this very significant project.”
The Kraft Group thanked DiDomenico and Senate President Karen Spilka for advancing the project and their “commitment to doing the right thing for the Everett community” but said the company is “deeply disappointed that the House would not take up this legislation on its own, and that the Legislature was unable to act on major legislation at the end of this session.”
“This inaction on language that had no financial commitments from state or local government has halted the public process to determine the feasibility of this project before it could even begin and passing this legislation was strictly about allowing us to start the process of determining the viability of this project for Everett,” the Krafts added. “Massachusetts’ political landscape is one of the only places where creating opportunities in environmental justice communities and rehabilitation is dictated by the needs and bargaining of political leaders with outside influences and we had hoped for a different outcome for the citizens of Everett and environmental justice for that community.”
For the rest of the year, the Legislature only meets in informal sessions — lightly attended meetings in which a single person can hold up a bill. There’s talk on Beacon Hill of passing a slimmed-down economic development bill during informal sessions later this year. It’s possible the stadium bill could move that way or via a standalone bill. Generally speaking, though, legislative leaders don’t like to pass controversial or complex measures in informal sessions.
Speaking to reporters Thursday morning, House Speaker Ron Mariano indicated there may be a way to pass stadium legislation or other elements of the economic development bill in informal sessions when roll call votes are not held.
“There’s a path for everything that doesn’t have a roll call,” Mariano said.
Boston city officials have said they were worried about traffic that the stadium could bring to neighboring Charlestown on game or concert nights, and rival concert operators such as those at TD Garden owner Delaware North had expressed concerns as well.
This week’s inaction represents a bit of déjà vu for DeMaria. It’s essentially the third time something like this happened on Beacon Hill. The House had approved language to take the property out of the industrial port zone in 2022, but the Senate didn’t agree, and time ran out. Last fall, the Senate endorsed similar language as part of a supplemental budget, but the House did not concur, and it was dropped as the Legislature faced another big deadline.
For fans in Greater Boston who yearn for a soccer-specific stadium closer to home, the whole saga has been a rough roller coaster ride.
Revs fan Matthew Pruitt, a Charlestown resident, expressed frustration with the Legislature for leaving so many important bills for the last minute, and then not reaching agreements in time. But he also expressed frustration with the Krafts, for not doing more to rally fans to get behind the measure.
“The Krafts have had plenty of shots at this thing, this was the closest they’ve gotten and it didn’t get done,” Pruitt said. “The financial ROI on this thing may not ever be there. ... But in order to be truly relevant in [Major League Soccer] and in this city, you’re going to have to build the stadium.”
Material from Globe wire services was used in this report.
Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him @jonchesto.