Another sign a new Boston MLS stadium plan is closer to fruition: the Kraft family, which owns the New England Revolution and Gillette Stadium, has met with Goldman Sachs about financing.
It’s no secret the Krafts are seeking a new Revolution stadium: two months ago we reported Robert Kraft and Mayor Martin J. Walsh have met several times about such a facility, and those meetings have continued, per the Boston Globe. The Krafts and Goldman Sachs have a prior relationship: the firm financed the construction of Gillette Stadium, so it’s no surprise the two would be collaborating on a new Boston MLS stadium plan. It’s not surprising Kraft is looking at private financing: there’s little history of public financing of sports facilities in Boston, and a trial balloon from the team over a ticket tax used for financing was quickly shot down.
But the basics of that plan remain: the team is looking at a south Boston site for the stadium — the sort of urban MLS facility that makes league officials drool.
So enter Goldman Sachs, per the Globe:
The Krafts shared simple renderings of the stadium site with state officials last year. MLS Commissioner Don Garber said last week that he had seen more recent renderings. The Revolution have also in the past looked at sites in Roxbury, Revere, and Somerville.
Kraft representatives met most recently with city officials on July 8. That meeting was attended by the city’s CFO, David Sweeney, and Mayor Marty Walsh’s chief of staff, Dan Koh, according to a city spokeswoman. The two sides had previously met in December and March.
Goldman Sachs has been working with the Krafts on the stadium plan since at least the December meeting.
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