Timeline: How the taxpayer cost of White Stadium renovations ballooned from $50 million to $135 million

The Wu administration has blamed inflation.

A view of White Stadium with some construction work in progress on Feb. 6.David L. Ryan/ Globe Staff

For years, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has been pushing to renovate White Stadium, a decades-old athletic facility for Boston Public Schools. Her pitch: Share the cost of building a new, state-of-the-art facility with a new professional women’s soccer team, Boston Legacy FC, which will split time at the new stadium with BPS athletes.

But critics say the project is too costly and too large, and some have even challenged it in court. Some favor a smaller project solely for use by the city’s high school teams and the public instead of a grander facility that will also host professional soccer. And in the years since the project has been in the works, the estimated cost to taxpayers has nearly tripled, from a $50 million estimate two years ago to $135 million today.

Wu faced criticism over the White Stadium project during her run for reelection last year, as well. Mayoral candidate Josh Kraft attacked what he called “a catastrophic failure of city management.” The issue didn’t resonate with voters and Wu handily beat Kraft in the city’s preliminary mayoral election in September.

After pledging an updated cost estimate by the end of calendar year 2025, Wu did not reveal the final cost to the city until Friday. She insisted the $135 million cost will not grow.

Here is a timeline of the growing cost estimates for the new stadium: