By Cary Shuman
New England Patriots Owner Robert Kraft and Team President Jonathan Kraft oversee the NFL’s most successful franchise, winning six Super Bowl championships and bringing countless memories to the team’s fans across the six-state region and beyond.
The Kraft family is now hoping to relocate their professional soccer team, the New England Revolution, to Everett, unveiling plans for a spectacular new soccer stadium that would be located across the street from the five-star Encore Boston Harbor casino/resort.
Robert Kraft and his son, Jonathan Kraft, spoke at a community meeting hosted by the City of Everett and Mayor Carlo DeMaria April 30 at the Edward G. Connolly Center. New England Revolution President Brian Belillo and Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations Cathal Conlon also addressed the large crowd.
“We are fortunate to be joined here this evening by Robert and Jonathan Kraft,” DeMaria said in his opening remarks. “Being here tonight is not a requirement. Robert and Jonathan Kraft have joined us this event, and they’re committed to being good partners in Everett. I truly believe they don’t just want to be an owner of a soccer stadium. They want to be good neighbors and part of our community. They see this project as way for us to all win. I think we can all agree that Robert Kraft knows a little something about doing what it takes to create the opportunity for big wins.”
Krafts deliver remarks
“I’ve been living in this state – this is my eighth decade,” began Robert Kraft. “I love it here and I want only to do great things here. I want to thank the senator [Sal DiDomenico] and also the mayor [Carlo DeMaria]. A couple of years ago, he [DeMaria] came to see Jonathan and I and he knew we wanted to build a stadium here. He had the foresight to tell us that we should be here and think about it. He made a great impression on us that here’s a political leader looking out for the best interests of his community.”
Kraft pointed to large poster of the current site of a now-shuttered power plant and then the rendering of the new soccer stadium, stating, “Is this something that can bring great pride and honor a lot of great events, a lot of positive economic opportunity?”
“I hope this all comes to fruition and we all can have great pride,” concluded Kraft, drawing warm applause from the audience.
Jonathan Kraft also thanked Mayor DeMaria and Sen. DiDomenico. “They’ve been such passionate champions and salespeople for this community,” said Kraft. “The real message that my dad and I wanted to convey tonight is this: if we’re fortunate to be able to build this facility here in Everett, that this, we hope, will really become a heart of the community. The waterfront will be active 365 days a year, and we will program the park for all types of community events, making just an amazing place for people to come and be with their kids. The building itself will not only be an economic engine, but it will be a community asset, whether it’s soccer, or cheerleading, or football for the high school kids, the junior high kids – we do that in Foxborough, we plan on doing that here.”
Kraft said that Everett residents will be given top priority when it comes to employment opportunities at the new stadium.
In closing, Jonathan said, “We bought the old stadium in Foxborough out of bankruptcy in 1988. It was a long and winding pattern to be able to build Gillette which opened in 2002. But since Gillette has opened, we’ve actually invested two-times-plus what Gillette originally cost. The building cost us about $325 million. And since then, we’ve invested close to $1 billion in continuously upgrading Gillette, building Patriot Place, and investing in other developments around the building. I’m confident that working together with the community of Everett and the political leaders that this will be only the beginning. There will be more investments that follows, and we’d be honored to be able to do that in your community.
Revolution officials
make a presentation
Brian Belillo, the team president, told the audience, “I see the impact that a team and sports can have on your community, and that’s what excites me the most about my job with the Revolution every day. I’m just so excited about the impact that we could have here in Everett if we can ever make this project happen.”
Belillo excited the many stadium supporters in the crowd by stating, “I think it has the potential to be just a beautiful, beautiful site.”
He said the proposed new waterfront park will give people access to the waterfront all year round.
“We’re open to hear what the community wants it [park] to be,” said Belillo. “The opportunity to be a part of a community like Everett is really special to us. This for us not just about a soccer stadium. It’s a real transformational project and those are things that we love to be involved with.”
Belillo said the team is targeting a stadium with a capacity of 23,000-25,000 seats.
“I assure you that the building we’re that looking to build here would be one of the preeminent, best soccer stadiums in this country and one of the best soccer facilities in the entire world,” said Belillo.
Cathal Conlon’s comments were equally well received by supporters inside the hall.
Calling it “a transformative opportunity for the city,” Conlon asked, “Can we turn from restricted access and brownfields and smokestacks to green grass, an open waterfront and access? That’s what fires me up about this project.”
Conlon said the Revolution would potentially be a part of “200-plus community events – jamborees, beach cleanups, soccer clinics, or birthday parties. We want you to tell us where it’s important for us to show up.”
Conlon expects the soccer clinics to be widely popular in Everett. “We want our players to be in the community. We want our players to connect. They understand very clearly when they join this club, it’s a responsibility of theirs to get to know our fans and be accessible.”
DiDomenico: A new day
for Everett
Sen. DiDomenico, whose efforts on Beacon Hill were instrumental in the advancement of the soccer stadium project, thanked the Krafts, adding, “We were hoping this day would come. There is a new day in this community. We’re going to turn the page on our industrial past on our waterfront because we deserve better in this community. We have folks here, the Kraft Group and the Revolution, who are willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to turn that site into a state-of-the-art facility for a professional soccer team to call Everett its home. It’s pretty special. And just think about when you’re watching a soccer game or anyone else is around the country, and you see Revolution Stadium with ‘Everett, Massachusetts’ underneath that stadium name – that is pretty special for this community on a national and international stage. That is where we are today.”
Residents comment on
stadium
Most comments on the presentation by the Krafts and Revolution and the potential host community agreement were positive, although a few residents felt a ballot question should be offered to voters in the city.
Carl Colson, executive director of the ‘E’ Club of Everett, expressed his hope that the soccer stadium could be a potential venue for ‘E’ Club events such as the organization’s annual scholarship and awards Dinners. DeMaria quickly endorsed that idea.
Dale Jenkins III, vice president of Everett-based Alliance Security on Broadway, said the company has hired and employed thousands of Everett residents.
“What we would really love to see in this community host agreement is that established, qualified Everett businesses get first shot at any of the vendors’ agreements with the Kraft Group – that would be great,” said Jenkins.
Councillor-at-Large Katy Rogers, who said she was also representing Cleanup Everett, reaffirmed her idea that the stadium should be the host of Everett High School graduation ceremony.
Rogers also believes that there should be “no volunteer concessions” personnel at soccer stadium concession stands. “From what I understand, at Gillette Stadium they have a deal where they have volunteers sell concessions for nonprofits,” said Rogers. “We want to make sure that these jobs are reserved for Everett residents, and there is no loophole, so they are missing out on these opportunities.”
Stephanie McColaugh of Cleanup Everett said, “I’m super excited about this. I can’t think another company that’s ready to spend $70 million dollars for remediation.”
McColaugh said she would like to see a stadium litter cleanup crew that’s paid for by the stadium “to clean up the surrounding area after events.”
“All that I ask is that you do ensure that the timeline of getting that public transportation infrastructure aligns with the construction of the stadium so that there aren’t any headaches,” concluded McColaugh.
Gene O’Brien, director of music and the award-winning champion Everett High School Marching Band, may have best summed up the feeling of the residents in attendance. “Mr. Kraft – he wants a gem in the Boston area. Everything the Krafts do is first class. I know the people in Foxborough and their music program. They have a great partnership [with the Kraft family]. The one thing I want to say is, it will be a gateway for our community. We already gave Encore on the left and the stadium on the right. People will be coming here for a world-class facility.”
Robert Kraft On Wednesday, April 30, the City of Everett hosted a community meeting at the Edward G. Connolly Center to gather feedback from residents regarding what they would like to see in the community benefits agreement from the potential stadium project.
This meeting was also a chance for attendees to hear from guest speakers Senator Sal DiDomenico, Robert Kraft and Jonathan Kraft from the Kraft Group, and representatives from the New England Revolution soccer team to learn about the legislative process that was involved, potential benefits to the community, and preliminary design plans. Following the presentation, Mayor DeMaria asked those in attendance to share their feedback on what they’d like to see in the community benefits agreement from the potential stadium project.
“This project is a tremendous opportunity to move on from our industrial past,” said Mayor DeMaria. “Not only will this potential project invest in cleaning up a blighted and contaminated parcel of land, it will also restore access to our waterfront in that area. The community benefits agreement that would need to be negotiated if this project moves forward will open up many more opportunities for our city, and that’s why it was so important to hear from our residents on what benefits they’d like to see if this happens.”