Patriot Place | Foxboro

Re: Patriots Place

I like the idea of putting it in Somerville, except I have no idea where it could actually fit. Assembly Square is set for an IKEA and mixed-use development, not a stadium.
 
Re: Patriots Place

close wonderland and put it there.
 
Re: Patriots Place

Successful soccer stadiums are always in an urban environment.

It has to be T accessible.
 
Re: Patriots Place

Successful soccer stadiums also exist in countries that are not the United States!

What's wrong with letting the Rev's kick the ball around in Gillette? Do they really need their own stadium? Granted, I'm not soccer fan, like most Americans, but to me it would be a draw to go see Gillette Stadium without having to pay $500 for a ticket to a Patriots game.
 
Re: Patriots Place

^^Most successful soccer stadiums do exist outside the United States. MLS will never be a fraction of the draw that soccer is in Europe, S. America, or Africa, which is why it would be smart to build a smaller all-soccer stadium (15-20,000 tops). Gillette, at over 68,000 is way too large for what is essentially an afterthought sport in this country. There are plenty of other off-season events at Gillette that draw in people besides the Revs and you don't have to pay $500 . Concerts, festivals, fairs, can (and do) make use of the Razor and typically draw more of a crowd than any MLS game. If the Revs had their own facility, the stadium could be utilized for more of these events (like H.S. tournaments and college events).

If you've ever seen Revs highlights you can clearly see that approx 75% of the seats are empty. The fans that ARE there enjoy it completely and a smaller venue creates more intimate and exciting confines for them. Many MLB stadiums have adopted this philosophy in creating new stadiums and updating old ones. Oakland has closed off the entire 3rd deck to create a more intimate setting for the fans while the new Shea Stadium will have about 15,000 fewer seats than the existing one.

The way I see it, building a new stadium next to Gillette is about the third best option for the team. I think It would be ideal to build a small stadium along a rapid transit stop somewhere in the urbanized Boston area. The second best choice would be use the new stadium to help a smaller city like Lawrence, Haverhill, Portsmouth NH, New Bedford, etc reinvent itself. Minor League sports franchises have helped places like Lowell, Manchester, Springfield, Worcester, Providence, etc draw in people and a small Revs stadium could do the same. the last option should be to let them continue playing at Gillette.
 
Re: Patriots Place

Lrfox is correct here. The more intimate feeling, regardless of the actual size of the stadium goes a long way. It also does a lot from a marketing standpoint. If a camera sees a 60,000 seat stadium at most a quarter filled, a negative connotation will be attached to the franchise. However, even a 15,000 seat stadium that is packed will be much better for marketing, attracting advertisers, etc. This is a project that should have been undertaken a long time ago, IMO. After all, its not like the Revs are a scrub franchise, they have been to the championship game four times in the leagues' short lifespan. Granted they haven't won it all yet, but they are still one of the more successful teams in the league.

Ideally, as Lrfox already said, the Revs go and help rejuvanate a smaller urban area. A state-of-the-art stadium, several practice fields (that can also be used by the local community for tournaments), a Revs Hall of Fame and apparel store, and maybe some small retail (nothing like Patriots Place, but just a restaurant and maybe a handful of shops) would be an awesome addition to most smaller urban communities in the area. One thing these MLS teams are doing really well with their new stadiums is making them more about the community than just the team.
 
Re: Patriots Place

Maybe it's just because I live there, but when mentioning smaller cities which could house this. Brockton is left off the list.

The Brockton Fairgrounds has been talked about being put on the market. This could be a better use of this land than a bunch of condos.

It's a historical site, that is large enough to house a 15-20,000 seat stadium, plus it already has a built in month long use as home of the Brockton Fair.

The Brockton Rox Stadium is directly across the street, this is a historical site, and may be had at a much lower price (I would guess) than in Somerville. There are also 3 T stops in Brockton, to help bring in the fans. A major problem right now is the lack of parking. A parking garage or 2 would be in order. Brockton has been trying to attract more concerts to the area, after a couple successful ones over the last few years, including the Warped Tour and WAAF's BFD.
 
Re: Patriots Place

I'm sorry, but did this suddenly become yet another discussion about major league soccer?
 
Re: Patriots Place

^^ I don't think it's a discussion about MLS as a sport. We're discussing where a separate Revs soccer stadium should be if one is going to be built. Since the Revs are owned by Kraft, who also owns the Patriots and Patriots Place and if a soccer-only stadium were to be built in Foxboro, it would no doubt have an impact on Patriots Place. We were discussing alternate locations for a soccer-only stadium and alternate uses for the Patriots stadium at Foxboro.

SeamusMcFly- I left places like Brockton and Lowell off of the List because they have some minor-league venues already. It's not to say they can't use another sporting event to draw people in, I was just trying to spread the wealth on my list. I've seen the Rox a few times at the Rox Stadium and even went to an *ehem* Jack Johnson concert there with my girlfriend. It's a fun place and the Rox games as well as the events are quite a draw. The stadium is a good example of how a venue can be good for a troubled city. Lowell's Tsongas Arena and LeLacheur Park do the same for Lowell.
 
Re: Patriots Place

Let me correct myself. Has this ended up being YET ANOTHER thread about MLS STADIUMS?
 
Re: Patriots Place

pelhamhall said:
Successful soccer stadiums also exist in countries that are not the United States!

What's wrong with letting the Rev's kick the ball around in Gillette? Do they really need their own stadium? Granted, I'm not soccer fan, like most Americans, but to me it would be a draw to go see Gillette Stadium without having to pay $500 for a ticket to a Patriots game.
Click to expand...

My comment was a reference to MLS stadiums. The best attended ones are closer to downtown.

Revs sell 10-20,000 tickets per game, 32,000 for Bechkam last year.
They need a 20,000 stadium to create a better atmosphere.

Making another stadium in the inconvenience that is Gillette would be a waste. They could probably get another 5,000 people just by being somewhere decent. I know I cant go to MLS games because of its location and lack of accessibility.
 
Re: Patriots Place

Revs and Pats seasons overlap and that is why the Pats had to get rid of real grass. It just couldn't take it. Overlapping also means the field has the chalk marks for football when they are playing soccer and nothing ruins the experience and says second rate sport like those darn lines.

A smaller soccer stadium would also become a player in the local concert scene and compete with other venues of its size so a location in Boston would be sweeter than most.

Edit: btw, I have no problem getting to the stadium from Billerica. I can drive and it takes an hour and one half or I can get on at Westwood and it takes 45 minutes the whole way but I can't bring a grill on the train.
 
Re: Patriots Place

I have no problem getting to Gillette, but access to convenient mass transit (preferably local bus and rapid light rail) would increase attendance and MLS needs all the help it can get. Gillette at 68,000 is just way too large and that 2 month overlap (more if you count Pat's pre-season and training camp) creates more of a conflict of interest.

Again, a 20,000 seat stadium in the urban Boston area would be best, but if that's not going to happen, a smaller city with CR access would still be better than either staying at Gillette or a new stadium in Foxboro.
 
Re: Patriots Place

Bob Kraft's annual greed increase never ceases to amaze me.
 
Re: Patriots Place

If you are referring to the ticket prices for Patriots home games, why shouldn't he keep raising them if people remain willing to pay for them [even as the price goes up]?

Putting yourself in his shoes, it would be hard to think of doing any different, would it not?
 
Re: Patriots Place

I don't think the actual face value is unreasonable. The problem is they sell out so quickly that like the Sox, it's the AceTickets and StubHubs (and the people who sell via those sites) of the world and scalpers to a degree who raise prices and make the most profit. Considering that there are 8 home games per year (not including pre-season/playoffs), $170 face value for a sideline seat is quite reasonable. I think most patriots fans would pay that in a heart beat.
 
Re: Patriots Place

jass said:
My comment was a reference to MLS stadiums. The best attended ones are closer to downtown.

Revs sell 10-20,000 tickets per game, 32,000 for Bechkam last year.
They need a 20,000 stadium to create a better atmosphere.

Making another stadium in the inconvenience that is Gillette would be a waste. They could probably get another 5,000 people just by being somewhere decent. I know I cant go to MLS games because of its location and lack of accessibility.
Click to expand...


Have you ever been to the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA? That's quite a hike from Los Angeles and that is very popular.


As it has been mentioned, a 25-30,000 seat stadium would be ideal as the Revs don't draw large crowds. In any event, the stadium could be used for things other than soccer, such as concerts, motocross, Lacrosse, high school football, etc.
 
Re: Patriots Place

construct a maglev from Boston to Foxboro. That will move people back and forth pretty quick!
 
Re: Patriots Place

^While I agree with that, Bob Kraft was also once "a common fan." \
The average ticket price in the NFL is $63. The average price of a ticket to a Patriots game: $99.28.... That is a 35% increase to what was already the highest priced tickets in the league....it's ridiculous.
Parking was $40 and will likely be bumped to $60. I don't even want to get into the parking situation at Gillette now due to "Patriots Place."
My father has had tix for 29 years and it's finally getting to the point where it's becoming unaffordable; an average trip to the game for a family costs like $1000!
Kraft does NOT care about season ticket holders at all; any season ticket holder who has had them for more than 5 years will agree with me. It's disgusting to me how he can be praised as such a great owner when the basis is solely off winning percentage. He didn't even offer season ticket holders the chance to get Super Bowl tickets. Instead, he sold them privately for $1500 per seat. The only season ticket holders I know that got the chance to buy tickets were season ticket holders who had written to Kraft personally to complain.
Even problems with my handicap uncle whom Kraft personally invited to meetings when designing the new stadium to make it "handicap friendly." Although, when it snowed during the Jets game last year and Kraft didn't have the lots plowed until 10:30 and no readily available handicap parking, my uncle(who also drives 5 hours from ME every game) had to sit in the car because his wheel chair couldn't make it through the snow. When he tried to contact Mr. Kraft, he received a voicemail from Jonathan apologizing and after several attempt to recontact, he has heard nothing more.


buju b said:
If you are referring to the ticket prices for Patriots home games, why shouldn't he keep raising them if people remain willing to pay for them [even as the price goes up]?

Putting yourself in his shoes, it would be hard to think of doing any different, would it not?
Click to expand...

Truthfully, I would not keep increasing the prices. If for some reason I did, I would stop playing the "I was once where you are" and "this is for the fans" bullshit. I would also refrain from an increase to keep fans happy..I would like to keep the fans that have been there for 29+ years instead of increasing the prices and having lame corporate people fill the seats..You should see the home games now- littered with corporate big shots who complain if you cheer too loudly or stand up.

I could go on for days with things to complain about since the Patriots have been a winning team. I just wish Kraft would remember who was there when they sucked and who he is driving away now that they are winning.


Finally, I know people are going to say "than stop going," or "there are plenty of other people who would love to take your seats." I understand that. But ask those same people, 29 years later and 15+ ticket price increases and being shat on if they feel the same way.(or if they will even be there once the Patriots become mediocre again)
 
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