Looking forward to some renderings...too bad this all couldnt have been built in the South Boston Waterfront like Kraft originally wanted instead of out there on Route 1...smart-growth my behind...never got why they didnt want the football stadium in Southie but then lobbied for a new Red Sox field, which has many more game days...
Patriots owner aims to develop a 'destination'
Kraft envisions turning parking lots into a massive retail, entertainment complex
By Robert Preer, Globe Correspondent | July 29, 2006
FOXBOROUGH -- Packed mainly on game days and for special events, Gillette Stadium would draw crowds every day with owner Robert Kraft's plans to turn some parking lots into 1.2 million square feet of stores, restaurants, theaters, a hotel, and a New England Patriots museum.
The Patriots owner's recently filed plans for a shopping and entertainment complex feature a series of building s designed around plazas and open spaces, which Kraft's company has said would promote a ``pedestrian-friendly environment." One drawing from the company shows a series of buildings, some with walls of glass, and multilevel decks and patios flanking a broad set of stairs and a plaza that lead to the stadium.
Gillette Stadium itself would serve as a visual backdrop for the new Patriot Place. It would be built on 90 acres within the 265-acre general stadium area, so many of the existing parking lots will remain in service.
The development plans filed with the town show several large, free-standing stores and a 200-room hotel just south of the stadium on a parking lot Kraft acquired last year. One cluster of buildings would include the one tenant Kraft's company has confirmed: Bass Pro Shops, a national outdoor retailer with stores that have a large entertainment component, including wildlife dioramas, massive log and rock work, and waterfalls.
The rest of the commercial development would face Route 1 and be in front of the stadium. An open-air pedestrian mall would be lined with smaller shops and anchored by office buildings and a 16-screen theater. Also included in the project are a broadcast studio, health-and-fitness club, and an expanded Patriots pro shop.
Still, many details have yet to be decided, said Stacey James, the team's executive director of media relations. ``A lot of it is still a concept," James said. ``The hope is that this will become a destination location where people will come for entertainment." To compensate for the loss of parking, the Patriots are building a large parking lot on the other side of Route 1. At least two pedestrian underpasses are being built to get patrons to the stadium.
Patriot Place development would mean a dramatic makeover for a stretch of Route 1 that, in terms of development, has lagged other nearby sections. To the north is the bustling Route 1 Automile, the misnamed cluster of car dealers that stretches 7 miles from Walpole to West Roxbury. To the south is Emerald Square Mall and a series of smaller shopping centers extending to the Rhode Island border.
Patriot Place received approval last month from the state Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. The project conforms to Foxborough's zoning rules, which were revised in 1999 to allow construction of the new stadium and a mixed-use development next to it. But the Kraft group needs town approval of its plans to manage traffic, as well as authorization from both the state and town for a dozen liquor licenses for the restaurants planned at Patriot Place.
Foxborough is preparing to hire a consultant to study the plans. Kraft and his organization hope to obtain the remaining needed approvals over the next six months and start construction after football season ends. Construction is estimated to take 24 to 30 months. With Patriot Place, the Patriots would join a growing number of NFL teams trying to use stadiums as catalysts for commercial development.
The San Francisco 49ers are working with Lennar Corp. of Miami on a new stadium complex that would include retail, offices, and housing. The New York Giants and New York Jets are planning a shared stadium with attached retail and entertainment venues in the New Jersey Meadowlands.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is looking to develop a retail, restaurant, and entertainment complex next to a new stadium he wants to build in Arlington, Texas.
``You can make the stadium a magnet, an icon, and use it to attract real estate and commercial development around it," said Andrew Zimbalist , a Smith College economist who specializes in sports business. Moreover, combining a commercial project with a stadium makes sense, since sports facilities already have parking, roads, and other infrastructure to handle big crowds, said Jim Grinstead, editor of Nashville-based newsletter Revenues from Sports Venues.
``For a long time you had sports team owners who focused strictly on their teams," Grinstead said. ``Increasingly, they are becoming real estate people."
? Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.
Patriots owner aims to develop a 'destination'
Kraft envisions turning parking lots into a massive retail, entertainment complex
By Robert Preer, Globe Correspondent | July 29, 2006
FOXBOROUGH -- Packed mainly on game days and for special events, Gillette Stadium would draw crowds every day with owner Robert Kraft's plans to turn some parking lots into 1.2 million square feet of stores, restaurants, theaters, a hotel, and a New England Patriots museum.
The Patriots owner's recently filed plans for a shopping and entertainment complex feature a series of building s designed around plazas and open spaces, which Kraft's company has said would promote a ``pedestrian-friendly environment." One drawing from the company shows a series of buildings, some with walls of glass, and multilevel decks and patios flanking a broad set of stairs and a plaza that lead to the stadium.
Gillette Stadium itself would serve as a visual backdrop for the new Patriot Place. It would be built on 90 acres within the 265-acre general stadium area, so many of the existing parking lots will remain in service.
The development plans filed with the town show several large, free-standing stores and a 200-room hotel just south of the stadium on a parking lot Kraft acquired last year. One cluster of buildings would include the one tenant Kraft's company has confirmed: Bass Pro Shops, a national outdoor retailer with stores that have a large entertainment component, including wildlife dioramas, massive log and rock work, and waterfalls.
The rest of the commercial development would face Route 1 and be in front of the stadium. An open-air pedestrian mall would be lined with smaller shops and anchored by office buildings and a 16-screen theater. Also included in the project are a broadcast studio, health-and-fitness club, and an expanded Patriots pro shop.
Still, many details have yet to be decided, said Stacey James, the team's executive director of media relations. ``A lot of it is still a concept," James said. ``The hope is that this will become a destination location where people will come for entertainment." To compensate for the loss of parking, the Patriots are building a large parking lot on the other side of Route 1. At least two pedestrian underpasses are being built to get patrons to the stadium.
Patriot Place development would mean a dramatic makeover for a stretch of Route 1 that, in terms of development, has lagged other nearby sections. To the north is the bustling Route 1 Automile, the misnamed cluster of car dealers that stretches 7 miles from Walpole to West Roxbury. To the south is Emerald Square Mall and a series of smaller shopping centers extending to the Rhode Island border.
Patriot Place received approval last month from the state Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. The project conforms to Foxborough's zoning rules, which were revised in 1999 to allow construction of the new stadium and a mixed-use development next to it. But the Kraft group needs town approval of its plans to manage traffic, as well as authorization from both the state and town for a dozen liquor licenses for the restaurants planned at Patriot Place.
Foxborough is preparing to hire a consultant to study the plans. Kraft and his organization hope to obtain the remaining needed approvals over the next six months and start construction after football season ends. Construction is estimated to take 24 to 30 months. With Patriot Place, the Patriots would join a growing number of NFL teams trying to use stadiums as catalysts for commercial development.
The San Francisco 49ers are working with Lennar Corp. of Miami on a new stadium complex that would include retail, offices, and housing. The New York Giants and New York Jets are planning a shared stadium with attached retail and entertainment venues in the New Jersey Meadowlands.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is looking to develop a retail, restaurant, and entertainment complex next to a new stadium he wants to build in Arlington, Texas.
``You can make the stadium a magnet, an icon, and use it to attract real estate and commercial development around it," said Andrew Zimbalist , a Smith College economist who specializes in sports business. Moreover, combining a commercial project with a stadium makes sense, since sports facilities already have parking, roads, and other infrastructure to handle big crowds, said Jim Grinstead, editor of Nashville-based newsletter Revenues from Sports Venues.
``For a long time you had sports team owners who focused strictly on their teams," Grinstead said. ``Increasingly, they are becoming real estate people."
? Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.
