Gillette Stadium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gillette Stadium | |
|---|---|
| The Razor | |
  |
|
| Location | One Patriot Place Foxborough, Massachusetts 02035 |
| Broke ground | March 24, 2000 |
| Opened | September 9, 2002 (grand opening) |
| Owner | Robert Kraft |
| Operator | Robert Kraft |
| Surface | FieldTurf (as of 11/26/06) Grass (2000-11/12/06) |
| Construction cost | $325 million |
| Architect | John Bolles |
| Former names | |
| CMGI Field (2002 prior to Patriots opening) | |
| Tenants | |
| New England Patriots (NFL) (2002-present) New England Revolution (MLS) (2002-present) |
|
| Seats | |
| 68,756 (football & soccer) | |
Gillette Stadium is the home stadium for the New England Patriots football team and the New England Revolution soccer team. Located in Foxborough, Massachusetts, the facility opened in 2002, replacing Foxboro Stadium. The seating capacity is 68,756, including 6,000 club seats and 87 luxury suites. The stadium is owned and operated by American businessman Robert Kraft, who also owns the Patriots and Revolution.
The stadium was originally known as CMGI Field before the naming rights were bought by Gillette after the "dot-com" bust. Although Gillette has since merged with Procter & Gamble, the stadium retains the Gillette name because P&G has continued to use the Gillette brand name. Additionally, uBid (until April 2003 a wholly owned subsidiary of CMGI) as of 2006 continues to sponsor one of the main entrance gates to the stadium.
By the 1990s, the Patriots needed the increased revenue that would come with a new stadium to remain competitive in the NFL, as Foxboro Stadium had become outdated and was no longer economically viable. Robert Kraft, who had owned the stadium since 1988, purchased the Patriots in 1994 and began a quest to build a more financially lucrative home for his team. After failing to reach an agreement with the City of Boston or the State of Rhode Island, Kraft and the Patriots reached an agreement with the State of Connecticut to build a new stadium in Hartford in 1998. However, issues with the site selected and external pressures from the NFL and other sources caused Kraft to void the agreement reached with Connecticut. Kraft's efforts then focused on building a new stadium for the Patriots adjacent to Foxboro Stadium on U.S. Route 1.
The Town of Foxborough approved plans for the stadium's construction on December 6, 1999, and work on the stadium began on March 24, 2000. The first official event was a New England Revolution game on May 11, 2002. The Rolling Stones played their second Boston area appearance on their Forty Licks tour on September 5, 2002. Grand opening ceremonies were held four days later on September 9 when the Patriots unveiled their Super Bowl XXXVI championship banner prior to a Monday Night Football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Patriots have achieved remarkable success at the stadium entering the 2006 NFL season. Every Patriots game played at Gillette Stadium has been sold out. Through the end of the 2005 season, the Patrots held a 30-6 (.833) record in regular-season and playoff games, including a franchise-record 21 straight home wins from December 29, 2002 to September 8, 2005. The team has also won its first four playoff games played at Gillette Stadium.
The venue has so far hosted the NFL's nationally-televised primetime season-opening games in 2004 in 2005 (when the Patriots unveiled their championship banners from Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX). The stadium also played host to the 2003 AFC Championship Game, in which the Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts. Additionally, the venue hosted 2002 MLS Cup the and four games of the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup. Gillette Stadium will also host the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships in 2008.
On November 14, 2006, two days after a rainstorm made the grass surface virtually unplayable in a Patriots loss against the New York Jets, the NFL required the Patriots to fix the situation. This resulted in a team decision to replace the natural grass surface with FieldTurf, effective with their November 26 game against the Chicago Bears. It had been widely reported that the NFL prohibits teams from changing playing surfaces in mid-season, but although it was suggested for policy review the league did not end up adopting a policy against mid-season playing surface changes.
[edit] External links
- Gillette Stadium Website
- Aerial Views of Gillette Stadium, StadiumFind.com
- web cam of Gillette Stadium
| Preceded by: Foxboro Stadium 1971–2001 |
Home of the New England Patriots 2002–present |
Succeeded by: current |
| Preceded by: Foxboro Stadium 1996–2001 |
Home of the New England Revolution 2002–present |
Succeeded by: current |
Categories: 2002 establishments | FIFA Women's World Cup stadiums | National Football League venues | Major League Soccer stadiums | Sports venues in Boston | Soccer venues in the United States | New England Patriots | College lacrosse venues | New England Revolution | NCAA Men's Division I Lacrosse Championship venues
