Legislation that could clear the way for a new stadium for the New England Revolution along the banks of the Mystic River in Everett has cleared a key legislative hurdle.
During a volley of late-night votes on Thursday, the majority-Democrat state Senate tucked the language into its version of a sprawling economic development bill.
The $$2.86 billion economic development package the upper chamber approved Thursday would inject taxpayer money into the life sciences and climate technology sectors, boost artificial intelligence, and provide a leg up to small businesses across the state.
“With ambitious initiatives in life sciences, robotics, artificial intelligence, and other cutting-edge disciplines, we lay a strong foundation for the new and global economy for generations to come,” Senate Ways & Means Committee Chairperson Michael Rodriques, D-1st Bristol/Plymouth, said in a statement. “While we look to the future, the bill also reinforces the traditional economic drivers of the Commonwealth, notably small business, education, and advanced manufacturing. This comprehensive legislation also reaffirms the Senate’s commitment to regional equity.”
The state House, also controlled by Democrats, approved its version of the legislation last month.
A joint House/Senate conference committee will have to iron out the differences between the two chambers’ respective proposals. Lawmakers must then approve that compromise language before it can be sent to Democratic Gov. Maura Healey for final action.
What the stadium language does
The Kraft Group, which owns both the Revs and the New England Patriots, of the National Football League, are behind the roughly $500 million push to bring a soccer-specific stadium to Everett.
The Revs share space with the Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Meanwhile, other MLS clubs, such as D.C. United, play in their own soccer-specific stadiums.
The Kraft Group wants to put the proposed 25,000-seat stadium on a 43.11-acre chunk of land along the Mystic River at 173 Alford St. that’s currently home to a shuttered portion of a power plant, MassLive previously reported.
The stadium would be neighbors with an existing casino owned by Wynn Resorts, which purchased the power plant parcel last March from Constellation Energy for $25 million, according to the Boston Globe.
The language the Senate approved Thursday, backed by Sen. Sal N. DiDomenico, D-Middlesex/Suffolk, would remove that 43.11-acre parcel along the Mystic River from a “designated port area,” MassLive previously reported.
The language also requires that the land can only be removed from the port area “for the purpose of converting the parcel into a professional soccer stadium and a waterfront park, according to published reports.
In a statement, Senate Democrats said the zoning change “is anticipated to have significant positive environmental and economic impacts in the community surrounding the area.”
Lawmakers also approved a DiDomenico-backed amendment setting aside $2 million for ”planning, design or construction of public infrastructure projects along the Route 99 corridor,” which is home to the parcel the Kraft Group is eying for the New England Revolution’s new home,” State House News Service reported.
The plan has previously hit roadblocks in the House. It was dropped from a $3.1 billion, year-end budget bill that lawmakers passed and Healey signed late last year.
A new stadium for the Revolution would be “transformational for the community,” DiDomenico told MassLive in February.
Happy Hour’s return?
Earlier in the day on Thursday, lawmakers approved an amendment, sponsored by Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Cape & Islands, that could return Happy Hours to bars and taverns across the commonwealth for the first time in 40 years.
“Opening the door to happy hour will once again help Massachusetts reset itself as being a place where people want to work and want to play,” said Cyr in a phone interview with MassLive.
By reinstating Happy Hour, Cyr hopes to bolster young people’s spirits and attitudes toward the entire Bay State.
Boston is viewed as “boring and expensive” and would be better served with the amendment, he said, while businesses on Cape Cod would thrive with the additional business on the off-season.
