The New England Revolution moved significantly closer to securing a permanent home Wednesday after the Kraft Group reached community impact agreements with both Boston and Everett just hours before a state-mandated deadline.
The agreements, valued at nearly $140 million combined over the next 15-20 years, clear a critical hurdle for the proposed 25,000-seat soccer-specific stadium on Everett's waterfront along the Mystic River.
The Dec. 31 deadline was established in 2024 economic development legislation signed by Governor Maura Healey, which required the Kraft Group to negotiate mitigation deals with both municipalities or face binding arbitration.
After months of tense negotiations, the parties announced simultaneous agreements that address transportation infrastructure, environmental concerns, and community benefits for neighborhoods most affected by the project.
For Boston, the financial package totals nearly $48 million over 15 years, representing a dramatic escalation from the Kraft Group's initial offer of $750,000 that Mayor Michelle Wu dismissed in August as "an unserious proposal".
The final agreement includes $13 million in direct payments for infrastructure improvements and community funds, plus an estimated $34 million from a permanent per-ticket surcharge—$1 per soccer ticket and 1.5% of each concert ticket sold, with inflation adjustments built in.
The per-ticket revenue stream will continue in perpetuity, providing Boston with ongoing compensation for traffic and transportation impacts on the Charlestown neighborhood, which sits directly across the Mystic River from the proposed stadium site.
Wu characterized the deal as fair compensation after her administration fought for months to secure commitments addressing Charlestown residents' concerns.
"The City fought for a fair deal for Boston and our residents, and that is what we have achieved through this agreement," Wu said in a statement. "After months of negotiations, we have secured commitments addressing the needs of Charlestown residents and feedback from community partners.
This stadium will enhance Boston's position as the sports and entertainment capital of New England while transforming a blighted site on our doorstep."
The Boston agreement also requires the Kraft Group to make "substantial infrastructure improvements" in Sullivan Square in Charlestown before the stadium opens and fund all public safety and transportation management costs for stadium events.
The team will be required to submit an annual traffic and parking management plan for city approval and install a water ferry dock to enhance waterfront transit options. Additionally, Boston will have access to the stadium for community events four times annually, and the Revolution will host at least six free youth soccer clinics each year in the city.
Everett's 20-year agreement carries an estimated total community value of $91.7 million, separate from an additional $100 million the Kraft Group will invest exclusively in environmental cleanup and mitigation at the contaminated former power plant site.
The city will receive $2.25 for every ticket sold—higher than Boston's per-ticket rate—which current projections suggest could generate significant annual revenue based on approximately 418,000 soccer tickets and 520,000 event tickets sold each year.
"I have always known that the residents of Everett deserve more than the inequitable burden of smokestacks and contaminated former industrial land that we have been asked to bear for too long," said outgoing Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria.
"My vision for Everett has been for our city to have a vibrant waterfront with access for our residents, new clean industries that bring our residents construction and long-term job opportunities, improved public transit options, and new revenue sources to support city services."
DeMaria, a longtime supporter of the stadium project, signed a preliminary agreement with the Kraft Group in November 2023.
His consistent advocacy proved crucial as the project navigated complex regulatory obstacles and negotiations with multiple stakeholders.
The proposed stadium would rise on a 43-acre brownfield site at 173 Alford Street, where the now-defunct Mystic Generating Station power plant currently stands. The facility, which operated for more than 80 years beginning in World War II, was New England's largest fossil fuel-powered electric plant before its retirement on June 1, 2024.
Units 1-6 were retired in 2003, and the final units were decommissioned in June 2022, leaving behind a contaminated industrial site in need of extensive environmental remediation.
The Kraft Group's development plan calls for demolishing the abandoned power plant infrastructure and undertaking significant environmental cleanup, an effort expected to cost tens of millions of dollars.
"Under the agreements, we will undertake significant environmental remediation and demolition of the long-vacant powerplant, invest in extensive traffic and transportation improvements, and deliver substantial community benefits, including millions of dollars towards infrastructure improvements," the Kraft Group stated.
The project envisions transforming the blighted industrial site into a vibrant waterfront destination featuring an approximately 24,000-seat world-class stadium and a nearly four-acre public waterfront park along the Mystic River.
The stadium design remains "still in flux," according to Revolution President Brian Bilello, with capacity estimates ranging from 22,000 to 25,000 seats, including suites and standing-room areas. The facility would host roughly 40 days of events annually, including 20-21 Revolution home matches and 15-20 concerts, with minimal additional programming expected.
Site selection proved contentious due to the land's designation as part of the Mystic River Designated Port Area, a classification established by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management in 1978 to protect water-dependent industrial uses.
Such designations restrict development to maritime industrial activities, effectively blocking the stadium proposal under existing regulations.
The economic development legislation passed by the state Legislature in fall 2024 and signed by Governor Healey in November specifically carved out the 43-acre parcel from the Designated Port Area, removing this zoning obstacle while leaving the remaining DPA boundaries intact.
The legislation stipulated that if community impact agreements were not reached by Dec. 31, 2025, negotiations would proceed to binding arbitration in 2026.
State Senator Sal DiDomenico, a Democrat representing both Everett and Charlestown who championed the DPA legislation, praised the agreements as a "really important step" toward making the transformational project a reality.
"The language we passed into law made clear that the communities most affected by this project should have a voice in how this development moves forward," DiDomenico said. "I am happy to see the Revolution soccer stadium reach this critical step to making this transformational project a reality."
Transportation infrastructure emerged as a central concern throughout negotiations, particularly for Charlestown residents worried about traffic congestion at Sullivan Square and the broader impacts of thousands of fans traveling to events.
The proposed stadium currently includes plans for only approximately 75 parking spaces, necessitating heavy reliance on public transit, pedestrian access, and alternative transportation.
Everett's agreement dedicates $17.5 million to construction of a new headhouse at the Assembly Row Orange Line station in nearby Somerville, designed to improve transit access to the stadium area.
This investment ties into MassDOT's ongoing Mystic River Pedestrian Bridge Project, which would create a car-free crossing linking Everett's Northern Strand Trail to Assembly Row and the Orange Line station.
However, funding for the new Assembly station entrance remains uncertain. While MassDOT has completed preliminary designs for the entrance, the MBTA lacks funding to construct it at present.
Under Everett's agreement, if construction of both the headhouse and pedestrian bridge does not commence within three years of the stadium opening, the $17.5 million funding obligation will sunset and Everett will receive $15 million directly instead.
The stadium project must still navigate multiple regulatory approvals before construction can begin. Local and state environmental reviews, particularly through the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act office, will scrutinize the extensive cleanup process required for the contaminated former power plant site.
The MEPA process requires public study, disclosure, and development of feasible mitigation commitments, providing additional opportunities for community input on environmental impacts.
Revolution ownership anticipates the permitting process could take up to 18 months, followed by approximately three years for demolition, remediation, and construction—meaning the stadium could take around four years total from approval to completion.
The earliest the stadium could be operational, according to previous estimates from Revolution President Bilello, is 2027, though that timeline may now extend further given the late-2025 agreement date.
The development represents the culmination of a nearly two-decade quest by Revolution owner Robert Kraft to bring the Major League Soccer franchise closer to Boston from its current home at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, approximately 22 miles southwest of downtown.
The Revolution have shared Gillette Stadium—a 65,878-seat facility built primarily for the New England Patriots—with the NFL team since the venue opened in 2002.
Kraft has pursued soccer-specific stadium sites across the Boston metropolitan area since at least 2006, with proposals for locations in Roxbury, Somerville's Assembly Square, Revere, South Boston, and Dorchester all ultimately failing to materialize.
Each attempt foundered on various obstacles, from the Great Recession to conflicts with Olympic bid planning to disagreements with municipal officials over financing and community impacts.
The Revolution remain the only founding MLS club to have never played in a soccer-specific stadium, continuing to compete in a venue designed and scaled for American football.
Despite this disadvantage, attendance figures have shown recent strength, with the team averaging 24,477 fans per match in 2025, placing them seventh in MLS, and 30,353 in the 2023-24 season when 12 of 17 home matches sold out.
The proposed Everett venue would rank among the larger soccer-specific stadiums in MLS, placing the Revolution in the league's top 10 in stadium capacity. As of 2025, 22 of 30 MLS stadiums are soccer-specific venues, which generally have capacities ranging from 18,000 to 30,000 seats.
Major projects currently under construction or recently completed include Inter Miami's 25,000-seat Miami Freedom Park, scheduled to open in 2026, and New York City FC's 25,000-seat Etihad Park in Queens, set to debut in 2027.youtube
The Everett site's location near the Encore Boston Harbor casino, which opened in June 2019 on formerly industrial waterfront land following extensive environmental remediation, provides a precedent for large-scale transformation of contaminated industrial sites along the Mystic River.
The $2.6 billion Encore development involved $68 million in remediation and cleanup of a former Monsanto chemical plant site, plus an additional $14 million on landscaping the Encore Harborwalk Park.
Wu's administration initially pointed to the 2016 agreement between the city of Boston and Wynn Resorts—valued at $68 million over 15 years—as a comparable framework for what the Revolution stadium deal should deliver.
Boston officials argued the Kraft Group's initial $750,000 offer fell far short of appropriate mitigation for a project that would significantly impact Charlestown's transportation infrastructure and neighborhood character.
The negotiating process proved contentious at times, with Wu openly criticizing the Kraft Group in August over its handling of the proposal and lack of detailed information about transportation, noise, and employment impacts.
Everett Mayor DeMaria pushed back against Boston's concerns, asserting that new transit infrastructure including a planned Commuter Rail stop and pedestrian bridge would adequately address traffic issues.
Under the final agreements, the Kraft Group commits to opening the waterfront with creation of the new public park, strengthening pedestrian and bicycle connectivity, and enhancing access to public transit.
The project will support Everett Public Schools, expand local employment opportunities, and make both the stadium and waterfront park available for community and school events. The Revolution organization pledges to prioritize local hiring, provide youth soccer clinics, and offer community programming.
"This project is intended to be a true neighborhood asset," the Kraft Group stated. "These agreements demonstrate the power of public-private partnership to deliver transformational outcomes.
We look forward to continued collaboration with Everett, Boston, and the community as the project advances through local and state review and as we take the many next steps necessary to bring this vision to life."
City Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, whose district includes Charlestown, emphasized the significance of the financial escalation from the initial proposal. "Charlestown has been clear that a project of this scale must come with real mitigation," Coletta Zapata said.
"After months of negotiations, the City secured nearly $50 million in payments over 15 years, up from an initial $750,000 proposal, along with funding for public safety, traffic management, and major infrastructure improvements in Sullivan Square and surrounding corridors."
The stadium project also requires the Kraft Group to commit to climate resilience measures, including elevating the stadium land above predicted 2070 flood levels to prevent creation of a coastal flooding pathway.
The development must submit plans to the Boston Planning Department to ensure compliance with the agreement's provisions.
For Everett, the stadium represents not only an opportunity for waterfront revitalization but also a critical source of replacement revenue. The closure of the Mystic Generating Station left the city facing the loss of approximately $55 million in tax revenue by 2026.
The contaminated, vacant site had become a physical and economic burden, making the stadium proposal particularly attractive to city officials despite the infrastructure demands it would create.
The Revolution's move to a dedicated home venue aligns with broader MLS trends toward smaller, urban soccer-specific stadiums that create more intimate atmospheres and stronger connections with local fan bases.
Naming rights for the new stadium represent one potentially lucrative revenue source, as would contracts for signage, luxury suites, and any future jersey sponsorship deals.
With fewer tickets to sell compared to Gillette Stadium's vast capacity, the Revolution will focus on building and solidifying a passionate fan base that generates higher per-capita revenues through merchandise sales, in-game concessions, and premium seating options.
The downtown location near public transit and the Assembly Row development would provide significantly improved accessibility compared to the current Foxborough site, which requires lengthy drives or commuter rail connections for most Boston-area residents.
Four neighboring municipalities—Malden, Medford, Chelsea, and Revere—have requested inclusion in discussions about the project, criticizing what they perceive as insufficient outreach from the Revolution.
The team has indicated that securing agreements with Everett and Boston represented the immediate priority, with intentions to engage surrounding communities as the project advances through permitting and regulatory review.
The agreements mark the latest milestone in a project that has evolved significantly since the Kraft Group first unveiled preliminary renderings at an April 2024 legislative hearing.
Those early designs showed a gleaming white arena with an impressive cantilevered roof hovering over the sidewalk, though the Kraft Group emphasized the design remained preliminary and subject to change.
The transformation of the Mystic River waterfront through the stadium project would continue a pattern of post-industrial redevelopment that has reshaped the Boston metropolitan area's relationship with its waterways.
Similar to Assembly Row in Somerville and the Seaport District in South Boston, the Everett development aims to convert underutilized industrial land into mixed-use destinations that combine recreation, entertainment, and public access to the waterfront.
As the project moves into the formal permitting phase, extensive public review processes will provide additional opportunities for community input and refinement of the development plans.
Environmental impact assessments, waterfront licensing under Chapter 91, and local planning approvals will all require detailed documentation and public hearings before the Kraft Group can begin demolition and remediation work.
The Dec. 31 agreements, while representing a critical breakthrough, mark only the beginning of a multi-year process to transform the long-neglected power plant site into New England's first purpose-built professional soccer venue.
Success will depend on navigating complex environmental cleanup requirements, securing necessary permits from state and local agencies, coordinating transportation infrastructure investments, and maintaining support from communities that will experience both benefits and impacts from the transformation of Everett's waterfront.
