Patriot Place | Foxboro

Re: Patriots Place

That's the point though, most people I have talked to really aren't expecting much (especially from this recently completed first phase). The project itself is the problem - the simplicity of a big box store strip mall just doesn't work. The Krafts are known for making smart investments that, for the most part, are very beneficial. However, this doesn't seem to work in its location.

A project that would have been better would be to take the money from this and give the Revolution their own stadium. Ideally somewhere like the Boston waterfront, but a state of the art soccer stadium right next door to Gillette would be better than this. It would also do a lot for the Revs themselves. I really hope that this happens at some point...
 
Re: Patriots Place

The Krafts have deep pockets. this wont take away from a possible Revolution soccer-specific stadium. That's a whole different can of worms.. anyone know whats going on with that, anyway?
 
Re: Patriots Place

I know they aren't challenged from a money standpoint, they won't run out of cash anytime soon. The problem is, unless someone has heard differently, nothing is going on with that. Also, my issue isn't the time and money being spent on the new Patriots Place, my issue is the use of the space. I feel like a complex featuring Gillette and a state-of-the-art soccer facility being the two anchors (one on each end) would have been the best way to go. They could've filled the space between with a corridor of restaurants and appropriate specialty shops, but to simply build this lifestyle center isn't nearly as efficient when it comes to use of the space.
 
Re: Patriots Place

Bass Pro Shops was packed on Saturday. (I needed some neoprene fishing waders for an outing in backwoods northern Maine next month.) Staff members told me that Bass is a big weekend family destination, but not crowded during the week.
The big box area was not well patronized. You will find nothing in that mix to set it apart from any other suburban state numbered road retail agglomeration .
The only likely distinguishing features of the finished project will be Bass, the presence of the stadium and the "Hall of Fame" in the midst of what will otherwise be a typical blend of mid-grade mall tenants. The economic breadth of the project could be broadened by the further inclusion of child centered activity, retail and dining opportunities: NFL Experience, Chuck-E-Cheese, Build-A-Bear Workshop.
Patriots Place cleverly seeks to maximize revenue from under used property fronting a B grade road with no public transportation. Ground leases for the big boxes, overage rents from the other tenants, abundant parking, more property taxes for Foxboro, it could be a big financial win for alot of people. It follows a tried and true formula, and counts on the Patriots' gloss to overcome the inferior location.
Don't expect anything architecturally significant or commercially exciting, despite all of the hype. It is a mere cypher. Patriots Place isn't designed for this board's gentle readers (unless you are trying to avoid freezing off your nuts in a cold Maine stream.)
 
Re: Patriots Place

eaalkaline said:
The Krafts have deep pockets. this wont take away from a possible Revolution soccer-specific stadium. That's a whole different can of worms.. anyone know whats going on with that, anyway?
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A year ago they were talking to sommerville, and they said other towns were interested, but theres been no news since then
 
Re: Patriots Place

How does Bass compare to other local stores such as LL Bean, REI, and EMS?
 
Re: Patriots Place

Bass is the Walmart for sportsmen (archers, hunters, fishermen, trap shooters et al), LL Bean is more clothes while the others are essentially sporting goods stores.

Edit: Kittery Trading Post is the closest we have had to a Bass store in New England. One reason is that we don't need a fake pond when we have a whole ocean full of fish and our type of fishing is very different- Bass has always trended towards fresh water.
 
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Re: Patriots Place

Agreed, though Bass strives for "an experience" and is better packaged than Walmart. You are also perceptive that Bass aims at the freshwater fisherman. There is little to interest the "blue water" angler.
The only equivalent I have experienced is Cabela's, which seemed to have a larger inventory and was more Walmart-like in pricing, lighting and decor. It also had a larger gun room, although the fact that Bass' firearms and ammo variety are lesser might be due to local preference. I don't know of any Cabela's around here.
L.L. Bean caters to the indoor outdoorsman.
My favorite local store for camping and hiking equipment is Hilton's Tent City on Friend St. in Boston.
 
Re: Patriots Place

I have been so confused about this project over the years... I thought they were building a "man mall" and then read that it was going to be a lifestyle center with all kinds of cool destination stores... and then I hear about this power center strip-mall thing opening with big box retailers like Bed Bath & Beyond, Circuit City, etc...

The whole communication of this project has just been so disjointed and poorly orchestrated. I think that Phase I is the strip mall, and Phase II is going to have family restaurant/sports bar CBS Zone, and some other interesting retailers. I'm still not sure how a big-box power center/strip mall interacts with this, and the communications surrounding the Phase I opening failed to address how it fits into the larger context of the development.

I'm hoping that once the exciting Phase II stuff starts opening, they do a bigger push to attract people there with promotions and ads - otherwise it's just going to be a forgotten about retail plaza way out there in Foxborough that nobody will want to go to - no matter how cool the tenants are. Consumers are already positioning this project in their minds and those misconceptions are hard (and costly) to replace.
 
Re: Patriots Place

You're right as far as Phase II is concerned. The CBS Zone, Patriots Hall of Fame, hotel, restaurants, etc. will all be in this area. Phase I confuses me as well, but I think that this is more geared towards the locals than anything else.
 
Re: Patriots Place

is the idea of CBS Zone that it carries every possible sports broadcast from everywhere, so you sit next to whatever TV has the game you want?
 
Re: Patriots Place

I would assume so. How can it call itself a legitimate sports bar if it only carries one game? I would expect there to be a heavy Patriots theme, but other games would be shown as well. From the renderings, it won't be that there is a lack of space to fit enough TVs.

Also, now that I think about it, isn't this going to be a CBS Scene? I can't remember, but CBS Zone sounds wrong.
 
Re: Patriots Place

I think ESPN owns the word Zone. Does CBS own ESPN? I forget now.
 
Re: Patriots Place

ABC and ESPN are under Disney. CBS is Viacom.
 
Re: Patriots Place

It is... "CBS Scene" sounds tacky too, but that' s what it is.
 
Re: Patriots Place

I looked into it a little - it's not just a sports bar - it's supposedly going to be a CBS-theme-restaurant where the TVs will show clips of shows like I Love Lucy, Letterman Top Ten Lists, CSI, etc.

Sounds to me like a sensory overload kind of "go there once just to see it then avoid it trap" with crappy burgers, and chicken sticks served up with some CBS news bloopers (like Katie Couric flubbing a line or something, then laughing about it or like when Dan Rather showed those faked documents because CBS's hatred of George Bush outweighed their ethics for journalism - fun stuff like that)

And it is going by the name CBS Scene (at least for now)
 
Re: Patriots Place

Thanks pelhamhall. I am inclined to agree with you and think that an ESPN Zone would be a better selection in terms of sports entertainment. At least with that you won't have to go through sitcom's and news reels. If I'm going to Gillette I want sports, not Two and a Half Men or something.
 
Re: Patriots Place

I went to 2 games this year, earlier and later in the season and was actually pretty impressed. You walk thru the tunnel, cross rt 1 and then there are one story stores on both sides close enough together to be in scale and feel like a street but wide enough to let the crowd pass. All of this is separate from the Bass area and actually has an urban feel. Next on to the stadium which is really fantastic. (My only beef would be security where unless you are all men without bags or women with bags or women without bags or... ugh!... you are going to get separated and have to meet up on the other side in the middle of a major cluster fuck of people all looking for each other).

So anyway, I'd show up at a game earlier just to check this all out and maybe spend money. It is coming along quite nice, imo.
 
Re: Patriots Place

jass said:
A year ago they were talking to sommerville, and they said other towns were interested, but theres been no news since then
Click to expand...

Somerville would be an interesting choice. But how about right next to, or near Gillette? There is planty of space in the area to build a 20-30,000 seat stadium.

I think the upgrades that have been made along the Rt. 1 stretch by the stadium have been great, but it could be better. The road should be widened to 495 and 95.
 
Re: Patriots Place

^^ I know Gillette is in the 'burbs, and it's not a waste of urban space by building a new soccer stadium next to the existing stadium, but my experiences with "stadium complexes," meaning, a stadium next to another stadium, shared parking, etc... can create massive "dead-zones". Oriole Park and Ravens Stadium are right next to each other in Baltimore (The Camden Yards area) and the space between them is a dead zone (while the other end of Oriole Park sees a lot of life. Same with the Meadowlands sports compex, Philadelphia's sports complex (including Citizens Bank Ballpark, Lincoln Financial Stadium and Wachovia Arena) and many others of similar construction.

The majority of the Revs season doesn't interfere with the Patriots, so it would continue to bring some (MLS isn't exactly a major attraction) people to the area during the Pat's offseason. But isn't that part of the point of Patriots Place?

I don't think a MLS stadium would be a terrible idea in the area (although it would be better off as a 15-20,000 seat stadium... 30,000 is too much for MLS), but I do think some smaller New England could benefit more from a sporting venue of this nature than Suburban Foxboro could.

Somerville wouldn't be a bad location, but considering that it's part of Boston's urban fabric and a primarily residential one at that, wouldn't a venue expected to draw 15-20,000 people draw major opposition? I think a place like Lawrence, Haverhill, Portsmouth NH, Worcester, or possibly even New Bedford (although it's South Eastern location may place it too far out of the way for people to get to) could benefit even more from a stadium like this. Lowell has been successful with the Spinners and the Loch-Monsters, so an MLS stadium there would be sensory overload, but other small-mid sized area cities could use a draw like this more than Foxboro can.
 
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