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Patriot duty - A new stadium brings fan appreciation to the future
Monday May 27, 2002 CNNSI.com

FOXBORO, Mass. -- I spent an afternoon last week sitting at the 35-yard line of the New England Patriots' new stadium, CMGI Field, awash with U2's It's A Beautiful Day flowing through a $3.5 million sound system -- 2,000 speakers! -- which makes the song sound better than I've ever heard it. Patriots VP Jonathan Kraft -- the owner's son and architect's assistant -- has just finished giving me a tour of the place and I'm soaking it in. And I think, I have seen the future of football stadiums and this is it.

This palace was built on time and slightly under budget (in an area of the country, I should remind you, where not many things get built on time or under budget), with every seat angled toward the 50-yard line, with incredible sound, with a view from the top of the stadium that will be awe-inspiring in October when miles and miles of foliage will be in full view, with open areas of the stadium -- inside the stadium -- that will allow roamers to watch the game from a score of vantage points.

It's strange to write my column about an inanimate object. But I was so impressed with this 90 percent-completed gem -- particularly compared to the dump they're tearing down next door, the old Foxboro Stadium -- that I just had to. It's gorgeous. It almost makes me want to go out and buy a pair of the few remaining club seats. Here's the first thing I think I think this week: I think what I like about the stadium most is the number of vantage points from which you'll be able to see a game without an usher saying, "Move along, buddy."

The Patriots chose not to put seats in four square areas of the stadium, on opposite sides of each 25-yard line, so they could open up so-called "skylights" for dawdlers to watch the game. (They could have sold 1,800 primo seats in those areas and made millions.) There is a section of the west end zone, at field level, where you can stop and watch the game where photographers and hangers-on won't be able to block the view. There are areas on catwalks connecting the upper deck with side-seating areas, hundreds of feet of them, where you can stop and watch the game. There's a replica of the Longfellow Bridge in the west end zone, right near the replica of a Newport, R.I., lighthouse, where you can stop and watch the game.

"It's funny," Kraft said to me, driving the golf cart we used to tool around the stadium. "But people will look at the stadium when we have a big game and say, 'Wow, they've got some empty seats today.' They won't be empty, really. People will just be walking around, enjoying themselves. We did this because we thought this would be great for fans. I'm a fan. I've been going to games here since 1971. And when I watch football, I don't want to sit in a seat for three, three-and-a-half hours. I want to move around and see the game from all different angles. I think our fans will really enjoy this."

What else I liked:
It's so open. Especially from the upper deck, you'll see so much of New England. From the northeast side, on a good day, you'll see the Prudential Building, 34 miles to the north in downtown Boston. And from everywhere, you'll see trees. Forests of them. From the north side, you'll see 1.2 miles of the regenerated Neponset River, which flows into the Charles and which the Patriots restored at a cost of $2 million. "This place is going to be unbelievable when the leaves are turning," Kraft said.

The coaches will be in glass-enclosed booths on the northside club level, meaning that, from barely any distance, fans in the club seats will be able to watch them work and sweat and game plan. And hear them say colorful things in loud voices, I presume.

The sightlines are the best of any stadium I've ever been in.

The Patriots sold no personal-seat licenses to finance the stadium. Fans are paying a bigger fee -- the average ticket price last year was $48; this season it'll be $71 -- but no dough has been shelled out up front (unless you buy a club seat).

The team did not milk its season-ticket waiting list, which contains almost 50,000 paid ($50 deposit) names. CMGI Field will have almost exactly the same capacity as Foxboro Stadium: 60,000.

The seats have leg room. I know. I sat in five of them, all over the stadium. At the top of the stadium, we got out of the cart and looked at the vistas. Not stunning or Coors Field-mountainous, but clean and green and very New England. "Think about where we were 10 years ago as a franchise," Kraft said, smiling. "The owner, James Orthwein, was trying to peddle the team to St. Louis. We had just 19,000 season-ticket holders, but who could blame them? The fans had to sit in 16-inch seats on metal bleachers. They had to wait an hour and 15 minutes to use the bathroom. And now this. No PSLs. Super Bowl champs. A 50,000-paid-person waiting list. Pretty amazing."




Foxboro Stadium

The site for the construction of Foxboro Stadium was selected for its proximity to three of New England's largest cities - Boston, Providence, R.I. and Worcester, Mass. Official ground breaking ceremonies for the stadium took place on September 23, 1970. Just 326 days later (August 15, 1971), the Patriots christened their new home hosting the New York Giants in an exhibition game. The home field helped give them a 20-14 advantage over the Giants before 60,423 fans.

New England Patriots enter its final season at Foxboro Stadium after calling it home for 30 years.

Robert Kraft established an ownership position with the facility in 1989. in the Fall of 1993, Kraft became sole owner of the facility when he purchased his partner's interest in the stadium. Kraft's vision as owner has been to develop the facility into a nationally recognized family entertainment venue.

By building and developing relationships with local officials and representatives of the music industry, Kraft and his associates have opened up the facility to more frequent samplings of diverse entertainment. In fact, Foxboro Stadium has hosted three times as many special events in the past seven years than it did during the first 20 years of operation.

In the last five years, the Patriots have hosted four home playoff games, including the 1996 AFC Championship game. It was the first game of its kind to be played in New England.

In 1990, the U.S. was awarded the rights to host the 1994 World Cup Soccer Championships. An initial list of the 35 prospective venues failed to include any Boston of New England site. Stadium management initiated the lobbying effort internationally to add Foxboro's name to the list. Joining forces with the tourism officials throughout the region ultimately led to Foxboro's selection as one of nine host sites for World Cup Games.

In 1996, Foxboro Stadium added a new tenant, providing a home for the New England Revolution - one of 10 professional soccer teams in the Major League Soccer (MLS). The stadium was selected as the site of the 1996 and 1999 MLS Championship Games. Following the success of the World Cup in 1994, Foxboro Stadium was selected as a venue for the 1999 Women's World Cup.

Record at Foxboro
Regular Season 127-103-0
Playoffs 3-1-0

Foxboro Stadium
60 Washington Street
Foxboro, MA 02035
Surface Grass

Stadium Info
Seating 60,292
Opened Aug. 15, 1971
Phone (508) 543-8200
Fax (508) 543-1409

Training Camp
Bryant College
Route 7
Smithfield, RI 02917
Phone (508) 543-8200

Franchise History
1971-present New England Patriots (NFL)
1970 Boston Patriots (NFL)
1960-1969 Boston Patriots (AFL)

Retired Numbers
20 Gino Cappelletti
40 Mike Haynes
56 Andre Tippett 57 Steve Nelson
73 John Hannah
79 Jim Hunt
89 Bob Dee

Championship History
League
Championships 1 - 2001 (Super Bowl)
Conference
Championships 3 - 1985 (AFC), 1996 (AFC), 2001 (AFC)
Division
Championships 6 - 1963 (AFL East), 1978 (AFC East), 1986 (AFC East), 1996 (AFC East), 1997 (AFC East), 2001 (AFC East)
Playoff
Appearances 11 - 1963, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001