Revs President Still Views Everett As A "Viable" Spot For A Soccer-Specific Stadium

Brian Bilello on building a soccer-specific stadium in Everett: “We still think that’s a viable site, a viable project, and think it would be really great for the overall community.”

Photo courtesy of the New England Revolution

New England Revolution president Brian Bilello still views Everett as a “viable” site for a soccer-specific stadium despite a recent political setback.

Early versions of a budget bill in the Massachusetts Senate would’ve paved the way for a soccer stadium along the Mystic River on Alford Street in Everett. The project, which would’ve cleaned up a decommissioned power plant, included additional benefits for the community, such as a waterfront park.

Ultimately, the provision wasn’t part of the final compromise bill that was passed last week.

This was a blow for the Revolution, who are looking for a home to call their own after sharing a stadium with the Patriots since the team’s inception in 1996.

Still, Bilello isn’t giving up on Everett.

“We absolutely think it could be a great project,” Bilello said on Friday. “We were asked to come in and evaluate the site and see if it’s something that could work. We know that it could work there physically. There’s a dimensional issue to a stadium—the shape and size and all of that—and we know it can fit there.

“We think it would be a great asset for the community to have it there. We still think that’s a viable site, a viable project, and think it would be really great for the overall community.”

The proposal certainly isn’t dead as House Ways & Means Committee Chairperson Aaron Michlewitz (D-3rd Suffolk) told media on Thursday that there’s still a chance that a soccer stadium will be built in Everett.

“We’re not saying no to a soccer stadium,” Michlewitz told reporters. “I think there’s still a lot to be discussed on this. It needs to be fleshed out for us to feel comfortable about it going forward. And in the short period of time this as been discussed, I don’t think we’ve had that full conversation.”

The value of soccer stadiums can be seen throughout the league, but Bilello isn’t solely focused on that. He believes this project would asset to the area at large.

“Those folks in this room and people who are around MLS understand how powerful and amazing these buildings are around the league,” Bilello began. “And what great drivers for economic development they can be, what great drivers for the sport of soccer, and what great assets to the overall community, both in this case, the greater Boston community, but what could be specifically in a city like Everett, an environmental justice community, that can have a dilapidated, decommissioned power plant replaced by a public access park, waterfront, and beautiful public-use facilities.”