Battenfeld: Will White Stadium renovation be Michelle Wu’s Big Dig?

Could the White Stadium project be Michelle Wu’s Big Dig?

It already has all the makings of a boondoggle: cost overruns, conflicts of interest, lack of popular support and little public scrutiny.

Wu has vowed to fund the city’s half of the $200 million renovation to host a new women’s soccer team “no matter what it costs” – a head-shaking statement that reflects her dictatorial style and being out of touch with the taxpayers. Even Tom Menino, who critics used to call dictatorial, wouldn’t say something like that.

The only thing saving Wu is there’s a small chance the revamped stadium in Franklin Park may never be built due to a lawsuit filed by local residents – but the mayor has vowed to steamroll it through anyway.

“We are going to pay for our half of the stadium, no matter what it costs,” Wu said. “But we’re about to begin construction and we feel that the estimates that we have are going to be in the ballpark of what is needed, and that this overall is going to be a deal that is worth it for generations to come for our city.”

State officials used very similar logic to push through the $24 billion Big Dig project, even after it became clear the price tag was nearly 10 times more than originally estimated.

When the city’s share of a rehabbed White Stadium nearly doubled to $91 million, the announcement came not from Wu but from the obscure public facilities commission. So much for transparency.

The run-down, century-old White Stadium is slated to be the new home for a National Women’s Soccer League team with the awkward name of BOS Nation Football Club. The team is supposed to share the stadium with Boston Public Schools teams.

The ownership group of the team, Boston Unity Soccer Partners, includes among its investors Boston Globe CEO Linda Pizzuti Henry, wife of Globe owner John Henry.

That has put the Globe in an awkward position of being totally in the tank with Wu and writing about a project that the reporters’ boss has a major financial stake in – a clear conflict of interest.

Is the liberal Pizzuti willing to let the taxpayers of Boston take the hit for the stadium?

Will Wu force it down the throats of residents just because the Globe and Pizzuti want it? The Globe CEO should at least be forced to answer questions about it. If she’s running a major newspaper, she should be held accountable.

Wu made clear the city was willing to write a blank check for the stadium even after the Legislature cleared the way for a new soccer stadium in Everett for the New England Revolution. Residents and critics point out there’s no need for two soccer stadiums and that the women’s team could easily share the stadium in Everett with the men’s team.

Wu’s comments also came despite a looming budget crisis for the city of Boston as a result of the skid in downtown real estate, which funds most of the city’s budget.

Could her “no matter what it costs” comment be a signal that the pregnant Wu is not going to run for reelection? It seems a foolish thing to say for a mayor who will be judged by voters next September.

Wu has already made clear she plans to take several months off after her baby is born – she’s delaying her State of the City address until March.

That means the city will at least for some functions be in the hands of City Council President Ruthzee Louijene, who is acting mayor in the case of Wu’s absence.

Will Wu decide to formally pass the torch to the council president and take a job in the lucrative private sector? If that happens, Ruthzee will have a major heads-up on her opponents, who may include City Councilor Ed Flynn and philanthropist Josh Kraft.