Gillette Stadium

[BostonUrbEx]

If we literally plopped Gillette Stadium in the Seaport:

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

Personal favorite is #3, very easy access to Broadway Station and South Station. I was going to put it between Gillette and the historic Seaport area, on the parking lot, but I decided I liked it better here as far as T access and future development goes. I thought it would be awesome to have it on the channel, but I'd rather see real developments on the sides of the channel, so I went for minimal impact while having direct, on the spot access to the channel. Also, upon thinking about it, if I'm having almost zero fan parking, then #3 is really the only one that works, besides #2 I guess.

#2 sucks, I'd hate to see anything less than PURE AWESOME stand there (not that I prefer a courthouse to this...). But I made it anyways to give some idea of the size and where it fits.

 

[Mayor Menino's Crohn's]

I'm not a fan of the massive size of the convention center or its cost, but at least it's almost constantly full with a diverse number of groups and activities. It's undeniably been a boon to the area around it, which, mediocre as it is, wouldn't exist without convention business. A stadium would not have generated the same amount of constant activity at all.

It's overbloated, out of the way of most attractions. THe BCEC barely brings in revenue. A stadium with a once a week football game (and maybe a two game schedule soccer game) will bring in more revenue than a big wig convention center.

 

[Mayor Menino's Crohn's]

If we literally plopped Gillette Stadium in the Seaport:

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

Personal favorite is #3, very easy access to Broadway Station and South Station. I was going to put it between Gillette and the historic Seaport area, on the parking lot, but I decided I liked it better here as far as T access and future development goes. I thought it would be awesome to have it on the channel, but I'd rather see real developments on the sides of the channel, so I went for minimal impact while having direct, on the spot access to the channel. Also, upon thinking about it, if I'm having almost zero fan parking, then #3 is really the only one that works, besides #2 I guess.

#2 sucks, I'd hate to see anything less than PURE AWESOME stand there (not that I prefer a courthouse to this...). But I made it anyways to give some idea of the size and where it fits.

#3 and #4 seems like a good idea.

 

[Mayor Menino's Crohn's]

And demolishing something that brings in attractions, shows, conventions, etc puts all the construction costs already paid and done for to better use?



I'm interested in what height restrictions are in all the different parts of the Seaport and what the height of Gillette Stadium is. I wonder if anything will have to be lopped off and have an effect on capacity.

Yes and there would be no height restrictions. This isn't Chifaro's tower were talking about here.

 

[Mayor Menino's Crohn's]

I think you've failed to make any compelling argument for a stadium to be placed in the middle of Boston; is it really the "best/highest" use of the space?

"I don't want to have to drive so far to see a concert ..." is not enough.

#1. I've made several.

#2. It is the best use.

#3. There are other reasons besides a concert.

 

[czsz]

It's overbloated, out of the way of most attractions. THe BCEC barely brings in revenue. A stadium with a once a week football game (and maybe a two game schedule soccer game) will bring in more revenue than a big wig convention center.

If you're thinking of revenue in terms of the facility itself alone, yes. If you're thinking of revenue in terms of the stimulus it provides to the surrounding area (a much greater potential amount) then no.

The convention center hosts events daily. The stadium wouldn't even host one football game a week. Games are only played during football season, and many of those games are away ones.

 

[bbfen]

It's overbloated, out of the way of most attractions. THe BCEC barely brings in revenue. A stadium with a once a week football game (and maybe a two game schedule soccer game) will bring in more revenue than a big wig convention center.

Is there a source on the BCEC revenue anecdote? I'm never sure whre to start looking for info like that.

 

[Mayor Menino's Crohn's]

If you're thinking of revenue in terms of the facility itself alone, yes. If you're thinking of revenue in terms of the stimulus it provides to the surrounding area (a much greater potential amount) then no.

The convention center hosts events daily. The stadium wouldn't even host one football game a week. Games are only played during football season, and many of those games are away ones.

No but you would have soccer games...concerts in the summer...HS football...and the real revenue would not be the stadium itself, but the surrounding bars. See CZSZ, think BIG PICTURE!

And one more thing, BostonUrbEx solved the issue! Pic #3 would prevent any tearing down of the BCEC. Thank you BUE! Top architect!

 

[Mayor Menino's Crohn's]

If we literally plopped Gillette Stadium in the Seaport:

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

Personal favorite is #3, very easy access to Broadway Station and South Station. I was going to put it between Gillette and the historic Seaport area, on the parking lot, but I decided I liked it better here as far as T access and future development goes. I thought it would be awesome to have it on the channel, but I'd rather see real developments on the sides of the channel, so I went for minimal impact while having direct, on the spot access to the channel. Also, upon thinking about it, if I'm having almost zero fan parking, then #3 is really the only one that works, besides #2 I guess.

#2 sucks, I'd hate to see anything less than PURE AWESOME stand there (not that I prefer a courthouse to this...). But I made it anyways to give some idea of the size and where it fits.

#5 is a possibility as well...

 

[JohnAKeith]

There's no development around NY Yankees' Stadium that wouldn't be there without it ... and Gillette Stadium has created development around it?? Well, yeah, for Bob Kraft ... and you want a stadium where there's only one way in and one way out??

 

[Mayor Menino's Crohn's]

There's no development around NY Yankees' Stadium that wouldn't be there without it ... and Gillette Stadium has created development around it?? Well, yeah, for Bob Kraft ... and you want a stadium where there's only one way in and one way out??

Ummmmmm...In Foxboro, there's already only one way in and one way out!

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

There's no development around NY Yankees' Stadium that wouldn't be there without it .

Not really. This is apples and oranges, dude. This is apples and fried chicken, really.

The Yankees stadium, the old one to which I assume you are referring, did not amazingly develop that section of the south Bronx; that area was developed as urban housing because of the waves of middle class families escaping the slums of lower Manhattan. While developed at the same time this wasn't some massive urban renewal scheme.

Gillette Stadium is much more developed in the Xandau model (the Jets/Giants complex). That level of redevelopment just wasn't possible in the early 1900s for many reasons, which is why I don't think this is really comparable.

 

[dshoost88]

You'd have to fill in the harbor there to get even close to enough land to fit the existing stadium.
View attachment 7666

The above post featured in the Bayside Expo thread made me mentally go down an even bigger tangent... which I figured only appropriate to move into this thread.

I gave it some thought and realized that some work in the West End could theoretically make a Gillette Stadium possible next to North Station. I superimposed my imagination onto a Google Map image of the area below.

• The former Spaulding Rehab Hospital & Suffolk County Sheriff's Building would need to be demolished/relocated.
• Nashua Street would need to shift immediately parallel to the Storrow portal ramps from Avalon North Station and become NW-bound only. This would become the surface-level front entrance to the new stadium.
• I-93S entrance ramp and I-93N exit ramp from/to Storrow Drive are beneath this property. The engineering might be tough, but it's totally possible to construct a stadium via air rights above this.
• An expanded North Station Terminal on the existing parking lot could be covered and integrated by the stadium, much like TD Garden covers/integrates with North Station today... the elevation between the Leverett Circle Connector Bridge and the Rail Terminal could integrate with the Hub on Causeway development for a Great Hall type facility that connects both sporting venues.
• Stadium construction could link together Charles Riverwalk, Science Park Riverwalk, and Boston Harbor walk as a logical focal point of our regional shared use path network.
• Proximity to regional interstate highway network, MBTA commuter rail, rapid transit, Amtrak, shared use path network, BlueBike docks, and Lovejoy Wharf's water transportation--all within .25-mile radius of site--make for arguably the most sensible location to locate a multi-use stadium facility.

It's important that every effort is exhausted to make the stadium as useable as possible. New England Revolution would likely be able to sell out an NFL-scaled stadium from this location. Patriots would have no difficulty luring fans to this location (boo hoo tailgaters, go patronize the Bulfinch Triangle Bars). Becoming a home for a college football team(s) would make for a tremendous partnership on weekends, especially if Northeastern or BU ever decided to bring back their football teams. If the stadium did indeed have an enclosure, this could unquestionably become a competitive concert venue for big artists.

Anyway... have a good weekend!

 

[cden4]

I would compare it to the effects that Fenway Park has on the surrounding neighborhoods. It definitely brings in customers to the local businesses.

 

[Charlie_mta]

The Mother Ship has landed ^

But seriously, I'd rather see a few supertalls go in on that site as a grand entrance to Boston.

 

[dshoost88]

Here's a more handsomely-designed, waterfront stadium in a similar perspective: Chicago's Soldier's Field

 

[KCasiglio]

Maybe I'm missing something, but why would Robert Kraft ever want to do any of this?

 

[dshoost88]

Maybe I'm missing something, but why would Robert Kraft ever want to do any of this?

• More strategic location than Foxborough. The transportation challenges/concerns that plague other sites in metro Boston ("What do we have to build to move 80,000 people through here?") is a nothing burger next to North Station on Sundays and weekday evening sports games.
• As owner of New England Patriots and New England Revolution, likelihood of selling out MLS games at an NFL stadium will go up immensely due to proximity to soccer/futbol-loving fans (many are foreign born, low to middle-income, and lack access to a car... the state's focused on improving access for these populations to jobs, and given that the largest concentration of jobs in New England is in Downtown Boston, Kraft could take advantage of that)
• Economic opportunity cost. The downside to many rurally-located (and taxpayer-subsidized) NFL stadiums across the US is that they are money losers. They host 8 home games during the regular NFL season, maybe some pre-games, and maybe a few concerts for U2 and Beyonce/Jay-Z... that's it. A strategically-located urban stadium (preferably enclosed/roofed) has far greater potential for event-booking and maximizing the revenue-generating potential of the venue. Kraft Group built Patriot Place to diversify their asset (the stadium) on the Foxborough property and have an attraction that generates more money on non-game days. However, the market of people that will drive to Foxborough on non-game days for some outlet shopping and dinner pales in comparison to the hundreds of thousands of high-income earners that are already in Downtown Boston in the first place. A partnership among Delaware North, Boston Properties, and Kraft Group is a win for the revenue-generating potential of having a combined 100,000-seat capacity dual national sports facility at a major transit hub that's recently been redeveloped into a $1 billion dollar mixed-use urban destination with grocery store, premium theater, concert venues, restaurants, food hall, and more.

It would be a complicated project in a city reknown for complicated projects and with an arduous review process, but I think there's more financial upside to constructing and investing in Boston than just holding onto Foxborough. Suburban sprawl was declared in metro-Boston by national real estate experts.

 

[Charlie_mta]

Here's a more handsomely-designed, waterfront stadium in a similar perspective: Chicago's Soldier's Field

View attachment 7728

You'd have to relocate the Suffolk County Jail from this site. which would be big item. Also any filling into the River would ignite a NIMBY caca-storm. Then there is the 4F issue of taking park land along the River. Just saying.

 

[George_Apley]

There are also probably clearance issues with the on-ramps to Rt 1/93. The ramp that goes past the Garden is already out of compliance.