With the announcement last week by city officials of a request for proposals (RFP), Franklin Park’s White Stadium, built 78 years ago at a cost of $2 million as a center for Boston Public Schools athletics programs, is on track for a substantial overhaul.

The Boston Public Schools system schedules soccer, football, and track and field events at the 10,000-seat stadium, which sits in disrepair. A fire decades ago wiped out the interior of the east grandstand, which needs to be replaced. And the west grandstand doesn’t meet modern building codes for accessibility.

The RFP calls for a private sector partner to help remake the facility into a high-quality venue. Whoever is selected as the city’s partner will receive a 10-year lease, and the right to license the use of the field and public areas of the east grandstand annually. Costs of maintaining the field would fall on the city’s partner.

The city also wants to build a new eight-lane track for interscholastic competition and install a new “top-tier” grass field, with a new irrigation system, according to the RFP. There is a June 26 deadline for submissions.

Said BPS superintendent Mary Skipper, “We appreciate the city’s efforts to reimagine the incredible potential of the stadium to support our student athletes in building leadership skills on and off the field.”

City officials say proposals must include a description of community benefits to the local community as well as a preliminary transportation plan for how people will travel to and from and park for stadium events.

Located inside the 500-acre Franklin Park, the stadium, which is named for George Robert White, a philanthropist in late 19th and early 20th century Boston, annually hosts school graduation exercises in June. The facility is most heavily used in the fall for football, soccer, along with cross-country and cheerleading practices. It has hosted Caribbean community celebrations and served as a vaccination site during the pandemic. In the 1970s, it was the site of Black Panther rallies and a concert that featured Sly and the Family Stone.

“In a championship sports town, our young people deserve to have access to world class facilities and programs for their growth and development,” Mayor Wu said in a statement. “This renovation of White Stadium will restore it as a treasure for athletes across the state and will help make Boston the best city in the country to raise a family.”