Neighbors oppose BC stadium plan
Neighbors oppose baseball stadium
More than 60 Brighton residents came out last week against Boston College's proposal to build a 2,000-seat baseball stadium near their homes on former Archdiocese of Boston property.
The proposal is part of the college's master planning process, which is being overseen by the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Monday's meeting at the Brighton Elks Lodge was the second of three meetings of the new Boston College Neighbors Forum, a grass-roots response to BC's expansion plans.
The meetings were called by community members to build "consensus in response to Boston College's expansion proposals," said Michael Pahre, a Foster Street resident and one of the organizers.
At the meeting, abutters reviewed what they knew of the university's master plan for fields near Lane Park and Foster Street, both residential streets.
BC's nascent plans, which are to be filed with the BRA next month, call for adding baseball, softball, and two multipurpose fields on the Brighton Campus, as the college calls the newly acquired site. Also planned are a 14,000-square-foot sports support facility and a 200-space garage, according to Jack Dunn, Boston College director of public affairs.
Dunn said the baseball stadium, which would hold 1,500 more seats than BC's field near Chestnut Hill Reservoir, would still be one of the smallest facilities in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which BC joined two years ago.
But residents agreed that while they like having recreational fields near their homes, they do not want a stadium. They also plan to ask that there be no synthetic turf and no lights, according to Pahre.
