A field of dreams, and expectations, in Franklin Park

White Stadium renovation must put BPS athletes’ needs first

That Boston’s George White Stadium is an embarrassment is an understatement (“Boston’s student athletes deserve a first-class playing field in Franklin Park,” Editorial, July 21), and the proposal by a professional women’s soccer team to renovate the site looks good on paper. The devil is in the details, however.

The public-private partnership and Boston Unity Soccer Partners’ money should not grant anyone priority over Boston Public Schools athletes. Any agreement should be thorough and transparent. Boston has a bad habit of forgetting agreements once the principals have moved on.

White Stadium is already only just barely available for Boston student athletes. If a professional team takes over, I can see that access curtailed even more. We need to ensure that the facility is available for after-school and weekend use. We need to make sure that when the soccer team says it wants 20 play dates a year, that means not the whole weekend. Twenty weekends from March to October coincide with the whole outdoor track season and a large part of the cross-country season.

I coach the throwing events in track and field and am already frustrated by BPS’s failure to provide safe practice facilities for these athletes. One plan I saw for the renovation has a small throwing area with no place for javelin at all.

This agreement has great potential, but we have to remember that this is a BPS site and it’s way overdue for serious investment. As this moves forward, I will want to see that BPS athletes’ needs are met first.

THEODORE LOSKA Dorchester

The writer was a BPS teacher for 27 years and has been a longtime volunteer track coach in the school system.