Patriots/NFL Patriots announce $225 million dollar renovation to Gillette Stadium

[Fenway]

Jim Nolan On Gillette Stadium Improvements Coming In 2023
​

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Beginning in early 2022, construction of the most dramatic Gillette Stadium improvements since its opening in 2002 will begin in the north end of the stadium. This project will feature a completely reimagined plaza leading into the stadium, including a new and enhanced lighthouse. Inside the stadium, there will be a prominent new HD video board as well as new and improved concession locations and other fan amenities. In Gillette Stadium's first 20 years, the Kraft family invested more than $300 million on stadium enhancements. This new project, including the south end zone improvements made last offseason, will total an additional $225 million investment, which reflects the family's continued commitment to the Gillette Stadium fan experience for the next 20 years. The construction is scheduled for completion prior to the 2023 NFL season
​

In addition, the renovation will include the largest outdoor stadium high-definition video board in the country, measuring 370' x 60'. The 22,200 square feet of video board space will be nearly double the size of the new south end zone video board. The curved radius HD video board will provide game action, replays, statistics and fantasy football updates.

The architectural bridge and lighthouse have served as the stadium's signature view. This new development will feature a much bigger, more prominent lighthouse, standing 218-feet high, complete with a 360-degree observation deck at the top, providing sweeping views of the stadium, the game field, Patriot Place and beyond.

This one-of-a-kind observation deck will be accessible to fans visiting Gillette Stadium year-round and available for private events.

Transformational Enhancements Coming to Gillette Stadium 2023

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Click to read more...

 

[NextBigThing]

Easily one of the worst stadiums in the league. Even when it opened in 2002 it wasn't up to par with other new stadiums across the world.

Demolish that dump in Foxboro and build a new stadium in Widett Circle. Get this team back to Boston. It gives it a minor league vibe being so far outside the city.​

 

[Bruinaura]

Jim Nolan On Gillette Stadium Improvements Coming In 2023
​

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Beginning in early 2022, construction of the most dramatic Gillette Stadium improvements since its opening in 2002 will begin in the north end of the stadium. This project will feature a completely reimagined plaza leading into the stadium, including a new and enhanced lighthouse. Inside the stadium, there will be a prominent new HD video board as well as new and improved concession locations and other fan amenities. In Gillette Stadium's first 20 years, the Kraft family invested more than $300 million on stadium enhancements. This new project, including the south end zone improvements made last offseason, will total an additional $225 million investment, which reflects the family's continued commitment to the Gillette Stadium fan experience for the next 20 years. The construction is scheduled for completion prior to the 2023 NFL season
​

In addition, the renovation will include the largest outdoor stadium high-definition video board in the country, measuring 370' x 60'. The 22,200 square feet of video board space will be nearly double the size of the new south end zone video board. The curved radius HD video board will provide game action, replays, statistics and fantasy football updates.

The architectural bridge and lighthouse have served as the stadium's signature view. This new development will feature a much bigger, more prominent lighthouse, standing 218-feet high, complete with a 360-degree observation deck at the top, providing sweeping views of the stadium, the game field, Patriot Place and beyond.

This one-of-a-kind observation deck will be accessible to fans visiting Gillette Stadium year-round and available for private events.

Transformational Enhancements Coming to Gillette Stadium 2023

​

I love technology as much as the next person, but at what point does going to the stadium become not all that much different from watching it on the big screen in your house, where the snacks are cheaper and there's no line for the bathroom?

 

[JRull86]

Easily one of the worst stadiums in the league. Even when it opened in 2002 it wasn't up to par with other new stadiums across the world.

Demolish that dump in Foxboro and build a new stadium in Widett Circle. Get this team back to Boston. It gives it a minor league vibe being so far outside the city.​

Yes the last thing Boston needs is a football stadium right off of 93.

Get outta here with that. No one gives a shit that the stadium is in Foxboro.

 

[EvilDead]

Yes the last thing Boston needs is a football stadium right off of 93.

Get outta here with that. No one gives a shit that the stadium is in Foxboro.

A stadium in Boston would be nice in some aspects, but overall it would be nothing short of a disaster. The traffic congestion, the lack of parking for tailgating, the cost of the property, the need for transport lines, and so on. An NFL stadium in the city generally doesn't work. It's why the Bears want to abandon Soldier Field for their newly acquired property in Arlington Heights.

 

[EvilDead]

I love technology as much as the next person, but at what point does going to the stadium become not all that much different from watching it on the big screen in your house, where the snacks are cheaper and there's no line for the bathroom?

Keep in mind that these renovations aren't for Joe and Jane Average fan like you and me. It's for corporate sponsors, which is really lame. Unfortunately that's how the proverbial cookie crumbles.

 

[McGarnagle]

Gillette has never felt or looked like a top of the line stadium, even in 2002, though it's not the worst either. Never really had a good aesthetic character, so maybe renovations will help. Only defining characteristics are like red walls and the one open end of the stadium with the lighthouse, which you only see on FG attempts anyway.

 

[Morris Wanchuk]

We are lucky in MA to not have our tax dollars used for stadiums.

 

[Gee Wally]

Yes the last thing Boston needs is a football stadium right off of 93.

Get outta here with that. No one gives a shit that the stadium is in Foxboro.

bingo!

as well as privately paid for.

 

[GabeTravels]

Easily one of the worst stadiums in the league. Even when it opened in 2002 it wasn't up to par with other new stadiums across the world.​

Let's see...stadiums that opened within 5 years of Gillette opening...

BoA in Charlotte
Mile High in Denver
FedEx Field in Landover
First Energy in Cleveland
Ford Field in Detroit
Heinz in Pittsburgh
M&T in Baltimore
Nissan in Nashville
Paul Brown in Cincy
Raymond James in Tampa

One of the worst? I don't know about that. Outside of maybe Denver, Pittsburgh, and Tampa, they're all forgettable. And Denver isn't a special stadium, it's just the location.

What makes Gillette worse than any of these other stadiums?

 

[Fenway]

Gillette isn't terrible - sightlines are good, concessions are decent

The core issue with Foxborough for 50 years is getting in and out and Route 1 is Route 1.

I am lucky where I have access to Putnam Parkway which makes all the difference in the world. For the average fan it is slighly better because you can hang out in Patriot Place before and after a game but it becomes an all day affair.

Not only is Gillette privatly funded but Kraft did not go the PSL route.

Gillette replaced the worst modern stadium in NFL history. NOBODY misses Schaefer, Sullivan, Foxboro Stadium - NOBODY.

When I was in high school I paid $35 for Pats season tickets in 1965 at Fenway

 

[EvilDead]

Let's see...stadiums that opened within 5 years of Gillette opening...

BoA in Charlotte
Mile High in Denver
FedEx Field in Landover
First Energy in Cleveland
Ford Field in Detroit
Heinz in Pittsburgh
M&T in Baltimore
Nissan in Nashville
Paul Brown in Cincy
Raymond James in Tampa

One of the worst? I don't know about that. Outside of maybe Denver, Pittsburgh, and Tampa, they're all forgettable. And Denver isn't a special stadium, it's just the location.

What makes Gillette worse than any of these other stadiums?

FedEx Field was opened in 1997 and Bank of America stadium opened in 1996. Both of them are arguably fall outside of the window of 5 years from Gillette's construction, before and after.

Side bar: FedEx Field has to be one of the saddest stadiums in the NFL. What was supposed to be Jack Kent Cooke's baby and be the state of the art replacement for RFK has now become a f***ing dump.

 

[EvilDead]

Gillette isn't terrible - sightlines are good, concessions are decent

The core issue with Foxborough for 50 years is getting in and out and Route 1 is Route 1.

I am lucky where I have access to Putnam Parkway which makes all the difference in the world. For the average fan it is slighly better because you can hang out in Patriot Place before and after a game but it becomes an all day affair.

Not only is Gillette privatly funded but Kraft did not go the PSL route.

Gillette replaced the worst modern stadium in NFL history. NOBODY misses Schaefer, Sullivan, Foxboro Stadium - NOBODY.

When I was in high school I paid $35 for Pats season tickets in 1965 at Fenway

I don't think people miss Foxboro Stadium itself, but the raucous crowd and intimidating atmosphere seems to be missed . At least that's how I understand it from stories told by ex players and people who went to the games. Some of that got lost with the new stadium. Now if I had to pick between a stadium with atmosphere but no restrooms beyond parking lot port a johns, metal bench seating to freeze my ass off, drunks fighting each other, and an endless haze of pot smoke or a decent inviting stadium with overpriced concessions like Gillette I'm gonna go with Gillette. I just hope the new upgrades can find a way to trap the noise in the stadium a bit better and make it more intimidating.

 

[EvilDead]

We are lucky in MA to not have our tax dollars used for stadiums.

I will say that is a major positive for the Patriots fans and Gillette. They invest their own money into the stadium complex and get out what they put in 20x fold.

 

[Fenway]

I will say that is a major positive for the Patriots fans and Gillette. They invest their own money into the stadium complex and get out what they put in 20x fold.

The Pats wanted to build in what is now the Seaport and Mayor Menino was against it as Mumbles saw the area as a new vibrant part of the city, which of course happened.

Kraft flirted with Hartford but the NFL and CBS said nope and he retreated back to Foxborough. His master plan was for a casino bankrolled by Wynn but the town said no and the casino wound up in Everett.

Give Kraft his due - he went all in with the family fortune when he bought the Pats in 1994 when most pundits thought he was insane.

Who's laughing now?

1. Dallas Cowboys

Value: $6.5 billion

One-Year Change: 14%

Owner: Jerry Jones

Operating Income: $280.4 million

2. New England Patriots

Value: $5 billion

One-Year Change: 14%

Owner: Robert Kraft

Operating Income: $142.4 million

3. New York Giants

Value: $4.85 billion

One-Year Change: 13%

Owners: John Mara, Steven Tisch

Operating Income: –$12.5 million

4. Los Angeles Rams

Value: $4.8 billion

One-Year Change: 20%

Owner: Stanley Kroenke

Operating Income: $37.2 million

5. Washington Football Team

Value: $4.2 billion

One-Year Change: 20%

Owner: Daniel Snyder

Operating Income: $25 million

 

[JRull86]

Gillette isn't terrible - sightlines are good, concessions are decent

The core issue with Foxborough for 50 years is getting in and out and Route 1 is Route 1.

I am lucky where I have access to Putnam Parkway which makes all the difference in the world. For the average fan it is slighly better because you can hang out in Patriot Place before and after a game but it becomes an all day affair.

Not only is Gillette privatly funded but Kraft did not go the PSL route.

Gillette replaced the worst modern stadium in NFL history. NOBODY misses Schaefer, Sullivan, Foxboro Stadium - NOBODY.

When I was in high school I paid $35 for Pats season tickets in 1965 at Fenway

Not that it falls on Kraft to fund infrastructure upgrades, but it's shocking the lack of progress the area has made in terms of fixing route 1 for traffic flow.

 

[EvilDead]

The Pats wanted to build in what is now the Seaport and Mayor Menino was against it as Mumbles saw the area as a new vibrant part of the city, which of course happened.

Kraft flirted with Hartford but the NFL and CBS said nope and he retreated back to Foxborough. His master plan was for a casino bankrolled by Wynn but the town said no and the casino wound up in Everett.

Give Kraft his due - he went all in with the family fortune when he bought the Pats in 1994 when most pundits thought he was insane.

Who's laughing now?

1. Dallas Cowboys

Value: $6.5 billion

One-Year Change: 14%

Owner: Jerry Jones

Operating Income: $280.4 million

2. New England Patriots

Value: $5 billion

One-Year Change: 14%

Owner: Robert Kraft

Operating Income: $142.4 million

3. New York Giants

Value: $4.85 billion

One-Year Change: 13%

Owners: John Mara, Steven Tisch

Operating Income: –$12.5 million

4. Los Angeles Rams

Value: $4.8 billion

One-Year Change: 20%

Owner: Stanley Kroenke

Operating Income: $37.2 million

5. Washington Football Team

Value: $4.2 billion

One-Year Change: 20%

Owner: Daniel Snyder

Operating Income: $25 million

This is what makes Kraft brilliant. When he put his money into the Patriots, he had a concrete business plan on how to maximize revenue and control every aspect of the operation and it has paid off in spades.

Meanwhile, you have bobos like Snyder who makes money in spite of his dipshit decisions and how he is single-handedly dragging Washington into the abyss. Snyder profits purely off of the past success of the franchise created by the likes of Jack Kent Cooke and George Preston Marshall.

 

[McGarnagle]

This is what makes Kraft brilliant. When he put his money into the Patriots, he had a concrete business plan on how to maximize revenue and control every aspect of the operation and it has paid off in spades.

Meanwhile, you have bobos like Snyder who makes money in spite of his dipshit decisions and how he is single-handedly dragging Washington into the abyss. Snyder profits purely off of the past success of the franchise created by the likes of Jack Kent Cooke and George Preston Marshall.

No one knows the value of owning property better than Kraft. Him owning the parking lots next to Foxboro Stadium was how he was able to leverage himself into owning the stadium, followed by blocking Orthwein from breaking the lease to move to St. Louis and eventually let him buy the team itself. So owning your property without being indebted to taxpayers gives Kraft a lot of flexibility and freedom.

I still remember as a kid when they announced that they were moving to Connecticut and everyone got really pissed off, then that kind of just disappeared. It was all threats to try to get a better deal or something.

 

[EvilDead]

A YouTuber by the pseudonym of Forgotten Places did a great little video on the history of Billy Sullivan's barebones concrete and metal horseshoe.

 

[McGarnagle]

A YouTuber by the pseudonym of Forgotten Places did a great little video on the history of Billy Sullivan's barebones concrete and metal horseshoe.

Didn't Billy put the stadium up as collateral to fund the Jacksons Victory Tour, which wound up basically bankrupting him? And that's part of how Kraft got his hands on the land there

 

[EvilDead]

Didn't Billy put the stadium up as collateral to fund the Jacksons Victory Tour, which wound up basically bankrupting him? And that's part of how Kraft got his hands on the land there

It was Sullivan's kid, not ol Billy Sullivan himself. That said, Billy Sullivan signed off on his kid's idiocy. And yes that debacle is how Kraft was able to get Foxboro Stadium for the princely sum of $22 Million dollars instead of Victor Kiam and used the Patriots' lease as a means to hold the Patriots in New England.

Two interesting facts about that. The first is that the Jacksons Victory tour put Sullivan into $126 million in debt and caused him to go hat in hand to Pete Rozelle and ask for a loan to pay his players. The second is that, following the debacle that was the USFL, one man that was primed to try and take over the New England Patriots in the midst of their bankruptcy hearings was none other than Donald Trump. As we know that never happened and that was for the better.

 

[Fenway]

A YouTuber by the pseudonym of Forgotten Places did a great little video on the history of Billy Sullivan's barebones concrete and metal horseshoe.

That stadium saved the franchise.

One odd fact - it was the FIRST NFL stadium to have a color reply board.

Billy Sullivan didn't pay for it - Budweiser did

 

[EvilDead]

That stadium saved the franchise.

One odd fact - it was the FIRST NFL stadium to have a color reply board.

Billy Sullivan didn't pay for it - Budweiser did

View attachment 491148

View attachment 491127

I didn't know that. Although I do know what was going to be the fate of the old video board, until the deal fell through. Sullivan was going to sell the old video board to the Atlantic Schooners of the CFL for their future stadium that never materialized and thus became the undoing of the Schooners as they ended up folding before their debut season in '84 I think.

 

[Fenway]

I didn't know that. Although I do know what was going to be the fate of the old video board, until the deal fell through. Sullivan was going to sell the old video board to the Atlantic Schooners of the CFL for their future stadium that never materialized and thus became the undoing of the Schooners as they ended up folding before their debut season in '84 I think.

No that 1982 video board stayed at the old stadium until the end and the Kraft's sold it to a baseball team in Mexico.

The board actually was a pawn in the entire mess that was Foxborough in those days.

E.M. Lowe who owned the Foxborough racetrack 'donated' the land that the old stadium was built on in return for controlling the parking lots in perpetuity - this would become a major issue.

Lowe would sell the track AND the parking lots to Eddie Andleman and his Sports Huddle cronies. When the scoreboard came along Andleman refused to allow support beams to be built on his land which forced the Sullivan's to build the beams inside the stadium that caused obstructed views.

That was the Sullivan's fatal blunder - letting Andelman get control of the parking lots in 1976.

Billy's son Chuck really thought he was the smartest guy in the room and his Dad gave him carte blanche. His arrogance left the family broke.

Think about this - Chuck Sullivan thought he could outsmart Don King on a cash deal.

Today I work with Chuck's younger brother and have helped build one of the best TV production fleets in the US based in Hudson, NH.

There is a cardinal rule - we NEVER, EVER talk about the Patriots unless he initates the converstion and never play Michael Jackson music near him.

For us older fans it still boggels the brain that Foxborough is a major player in the NFL.

We really thought this was going to be the last game ever in Foxborough but Kraft pulled the trigger a few days later



Personally for me they will always be 'The Sons of Billy Sullivan'

I find it ironic the most memorabable moment of the Sullivan's only Super Bowl was this

Ya this really happened




Bay State Raceway - Wikipedia

In 1976, Loew sold the track to Foxboro Associates, led by Eddie Andelman, for $9.6 million. They renamed the track New England Harness Raceway and later Foxboro Raceway. The track closed in December 1989 after Chuck Sullivan (the son of Billy Sullivan), who leased the track from Foxboro Associates, failed to make his payments.

In January 1987, Robert Kraft and Steve Karp purchased an option on the track, which would allow Kraft, who had tried unsuccessfully to purchase the Patriots, to prevent the financially struggling Sullivans from hosting non-Patriot events at the stadium during races. This put Kraft on the inside track to purchase the stadium, which he did in 1988, and eventually the team, which he did in 1994.

 

[EvilDead]

No that 1982 video board stayed at the old stadium until the end and the Kraft's sold it to a baseball team in Mexico.

The board actually was a pawn in the entire mess that was Foxborough in those days.

E.M. Lowe who owned the Foxborough racetrack 'donated' the land that the old stadium was built on in return for controlling the parking lots in perpetuity - this would become a major issue.

Lowe would sell the track AND the parking lots to Eddie Andleman and his Sports Huddle cronies. When the scoreboard came along Andleman refused to allow support beams to be built on his land which forced the Sullivan's to build the beams inside the stadium that caused obstructed views.

That was the Sullivan's fatal blunder - letting Andelman get control of the parking lots in 1976.

Billy's son Chuck really thought he was the smartest guy in the room and his Dad gave him carte blanche. His arrogance left the family broke.

Think about this - Chuck Sullivan thought he could outsmart Don King on a cash deal.

Today I work with Chuck's younger brother and have helped build one of the best TV production fleets in the US based in Hudson, NH.

There is a cardinal rule - we NEVER, EVER talk about the Patriots unless he initates the converstion and never play Michael Jackson music near him.

For us older fans it still boggels the brain that Foxborough is a major player in the NFL.

We really thought this was going to be the last game ever in Foxborough but Kraft pulled the trigger a few days later



Personally for me they will always be 'The Sons of Billy Sullivan'

I find it ironic the most memorabable moment of the Sullivan's only Super Bowl was this

Ya this really happened




Bay State Raceway - Wikipedia

In 1976, Loew sold the track to Foxboro Associates, led by Eddie Andelman, for $9.6 million. They renamed the track New England Harness Raceway and later Foxboro Raceway. The track closed in December 1989 after Chuck Sullivan (the son of Billy Sullivan), who leased the track from Foxboro Associates, failed to make his payments.

In January 1987, Robert Kraft and Steve Karp purchased an option on the track, which would allow Kraft, who had tried unsuccessfully to purchase the Patriots, to prevent the financially struggling Sullivans from hosting non-Patriot events at the stadium during races. This put Kraft on the inside track to purchase the stadium, which he did in 1988, and eventually the team, which he did in 1994.

View attachment 491198

View attachment 491197

Not even a whistle or humming of Billie Jean?

Edit: Also that intermission break made me have a full body cringe.