EV RETEV V Vol. 35, No.13 -FREEE ER TT www.advocatenews.net Your Local News & Sports Online! Scan & Subscribe! D OCAT Free Every Friday Everett awarded $10K for FIFA World Cup watch party Award is part of $10M in grants from the Commonwealth to support World Cup–related events across Massachusetts Special to Th e Advocate M ayor Robert J. Van Campen was pleased to announce that the City of Everett received $10,000 to host a community watch party celebrating the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The City of Everett is planning a public watch party event at Everett Stadium featuring a large screen with a sound setup, free local and diverse food options, and family-friendly activities. The event is in the early stages of planning and additional details about the community watch party, including the game that will be featured, will GRANTS | SEE PAGE 4 F. J. LaRovere Insurance Agency, Inc. 492 Broadway Everett, MA 02149 617-387-9700 phone 617-387-9702 fax INSURANCE FOR AUTO, HOME, AND BUSINESS We offer very competitive rates, and by representing many different companies we can shop for the best price for our customers. Call us today! Open Monday – Friday 9am-5pm and Saturdays 9am-12pm Messinger Insurance Agency 475 Broadway Everett, MA 02149 617-387-2700 phone 617-387-7753 fax 617-387-2200 ADVOCTE Friday, April 3, 2026 Van Campen Talks Priorities, Stadium Plans and School Crowding in NBC10 Interview M By Neil Zolot ayor Robert Van Campen was interviewed by television station NBC10 Boston on their At Issue Sit Down, which they stylize as “@Issue Sit Down,” Sunday morning, March 28. “I was happy to sit down and discuss my fi rst couple of months in offi ce,” he said. “I’m getting my feet on the ground, and we’ve put together a really experienced senior leadership team,” he said in response to initial questions from interviewer Matt Prichard about what was going on and how things were going. “I’m starting to rebuild boards and commissions and taking a hard look at fi nancial transparency. Residents want to see a government that serves their interests, follows through on projects and spends their money wisely.” Among the projects is the proposed 25,000-seat soccer stadium by The Kraft Group to host New England Revolution soccer games on a 43.1-acre parcel on Alford Street, across Lower Broadway from the casino and across the Mystic River from Charlestown. “We have to make sure transportation issues are addressed comprehensively and pedestrian issues are addressed comprehensively,” he told Prichard in reference to issues of access to the stadium in light of plans for it to have only 75 parking spaces. “These issues have to be addressed to perfection to succeed.” The interview was conducted on the recently repaired roof of the old Everett High School, 548 Broadway, which is being refurbished for classroom space for some MidRobert J. Van Campen Mayor dle School students. The location dovetailed with questions from Prichard about school overcrowding, although use of the building will not aff ect overcrowding at the current High School at 100 Elm Street adjacent to Glendale Park. “The High School was built for 1,650 students, but now houses 2,200,” Van Campen acknowledged. “Would I like to build more classroom space in the next one or two years? Yes. That’s my ideal.” He added that federal aid money was used to fi x the roof, and he is pursuing other aid money to “stabilize the building. We’re in the early stages of discussing a new High School, but I want to make sure if we do it on a quick timeline, it’s done in proper fashion.” (Over his last two years as Mayor in 2024 and 2025, Carlo DeMaria talked about a new High School, possibly with a vocational component, somewhere in the city, possibly Greenwood Park/Playground, and converting the current High School to a Middle School, which would move 6-8th graders out of the neighborhood K-8 local schools and INTERVIEW | SEE PAGE 4
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