BOSTON — A proposed NWSL schedule change could lock Boston Public Schools football teams out of White Stadium — the $325 million facility that Mayor Michelle Wu promised was being rebuilt for them — and taxpayers are on the hook for nearly triple what they were originally told.

The problem is in the lease. The shared-use agreement between the city and the Legacy says football cannot be played at the stadium "prior to the conclusion of all team games during an applicable NWSL season" without the pro team's consent. Under the current schedule, BPS gets the field for late-season and Thanksgiving games once soccer wraps in November. Flip the calendar to summer-through-spring, and the NWSL season runs straight through fall football. BPS would need the Legacy's permission to play on a field that taxpayers are spending $135 million to rebuild.

Permission that, per the lease, the pro team is not required to give.

That's a taxpayer commitment that has nearly tripled in two years. And the Legacy still hasn't played a single game at White Stadium — they spent their inaugural season at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro because of construction delays.

Meanwhile, the Franklin Park Defenders have proposed a fully public rebuild — no pro soccer, no shared-use clauses, students as the priority — for an estimated $64.6 million. Wu's team says a public-only version would cost "well over" $135 million. That number happens to match exactly what they're already spending, which is either a coincidence or a talking point designed to make the comparison disappear.

Wu's office and the Legacy issued a joint statement saying BPS football will happen at White Stadium "regardless of any changes to the league schedule." They said they'd "work together" to make it happen.

But press statements don't override lease agreements. The contract gives the pro team scheduling priority during their season. If the NWSL flips the calendar, "working together" means asking the Legacy for permission — not guaranteeing access.

The state Supreme Judicial Court is currently weighing a separate lawsuit alleging the whole project illegally privatizes public parkland in Franklin Park. The Defenders and the Emerald Necklace Conservancy brought the case, and a ruling could come any day.

"Our students deserve a fully-public stadium where they're the priority, 100% of the time," James Mealey of the Defenders said. "The future of BPS football at White Stadium will be determined by a few wealthy soccer team owners from across the nation — not anyone here in Boston."

The bill has tripled. The team hasn't played there. The courts haven't ruled. And now the league might change its schedule in a way that makes the whole "shared use" promise unenforceable.

Taxpayers were told $50 million for a stadium their kids would use. So far they're getting a $135 million IOU and a press statement.