Wednesday, the City of Boston and Boston Legacy FC secured a major victory when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed that the $325 million renovation of White Stadium does not violate state law.

The plaintiffs, including community members and the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, argued that the stadium’s parcel is protected by Article 97 of the state constitution, which limits how conservation areas can be converted to other uses. They also allege that the redevelopment would breach the terms of the George Robert White Fund, an endowment intended to create public beauty and utility for Boston residents.

The SJC concluded that although the City originally acquired the stadium for use as a public park in 1883, legislative action in 1947 and 1950 dedicated the parcel on which the stadium sits to other uses, thereby making it not subject to Article 97.

“Taken together, these two pieces of legislation effectively removed the stadium parcel from its previous designation as parkland,” the decision reads. “Accordingly, by the time [Article 97] was ratified over twenty years later in 1972, the stadium parcel was no longer subject to its provisions.”

Justices also found that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to challenge the White Fund’s use.

This decision comes as a win for Mayor Michelle Wu, who has spent years defending the project despite criticism over its cost, impact on public transit and parking, and the risk of gentrifying the surrounding neighborhood. In a statement following the SJC’s ruling, she said redeveloping the stadium will create opportunities for “unprecedented public benefit.”

“This is a great victory for our city — and for all who believe that Boston can and should take big swings to get things done for our community,” she said.

ENC President Karen Muaney-Brodek disagrees. She said the ENC and Franklin Park Defenders were disappointed by the decision, but there is still time for the City to transition to a smaller publicly funded project.

“We do not think the current proposal is the right one for the park or the communities that surround it. We agree with many community leaders, including the Boston Globe and Boston Herald editorial boards as well as the Boston Branch of the NAACP, that a less expensive, fully-public stadium should be seriously considered,” she said in a statement.

“Such a project would be much more affordable, would not displace previous users of the playing field like the BPS football program, would not negatively impact existing park users and neighbors, and from a maintenance perspective, would be significantly more sustainable long-term.”

Boston Legacy FC owner Jennifer Epstein called the ruling a “tremendous victory,” and said that she looks forward to welcoming the community to a revitalized White Stadium.

“The Court’s decision clears the way for completing the White Stadium renovation and delivering a world-class facility that will serve our community for generations, and sets a national standard for youth athletics and professional women’s soccer,” she said.

Mattapan resident Pamela Jones called the redevelopment project the biggest change to public land in the Emerald Necklace in half a century. She alleged the project has not received a fair public process, traffic study, or “real consideration” of a fully public stadium.

“From the rising cost of the project and its displacement of BPS football teams to planned game-day resident parking restrictions and restrictions on park access, the community’s reasonable questions have still not been adequately answered,” she said. “The communities around Franklin Park want a renovated White Stadium that doesn’t displace the BPS football program, pave over acres of public parkland, and subject neighborhoods to the traffic and other negative impacts of an oversized professional sports complex.”

The City and Boston Public Schools (BPS) will retain ownership of the stadium but lease it to Boston Legacy FC under a ten-year agreement.

The Boston Legacy women’s soccer team will relocate from Foxborough to White Stadium and use the facility for 20 games and 20 practices during their competitive season, from February to November. For the rest of the year, White Stadium is intended for BPS athletics and community events every day, except when it is in use by Boston Legacy.