The Patriots yesterday unveiled plans for their new
68,000-seat stadium in Foxboro, according to Joe Burris of
the BOSTON GLOBE, who reports that the design was handled by
HOK+LOB and the facility will be built by Beacon/Skanska and
Barton Malow. The $325M privately financed facility will
include individual seats, instead of the bleacher seats
currently in many areas of Foxboro Stadium, "fully
distributed" stadium sound, 900 additional TV monitors, 80
luxury suites, 120,000 square feet of club-lounge space to
be used year-round and three times as many concession areas
(350) and restrooms (60) as Foxboro Stadium. One of the
"facets of the existing stadium that will carry over" to the
new facility is the amount of general seating, 60,000.
Patriots Exec VP Jonathan Kraft said the "reason for doing
that, and not jumping up to 80,000 like other people, is
that we want to keep the stadium intimate." Kraft: "The
other thing we've done that duplicates [Foxboro Stadium] is
that we've put 85 percent of the seats on the sidelines.
There are very few end-zone seats. And also, we've angled
every seat toward the 50-yard line." Kraft said the stadium
will have a "soft opening" in spring 2002, in time for the
MLS Revolution, "because the entire facility won't be built"
by then, but "the lower bowl and the field will be ready for
action." Kraft also said that the "full stadium opening"
will take place that summer. Patriots QB Drew Bledsoe, on
the Pats' current facility: "It's kind of embarrassing to
have people come into our stadium and see what we live and
practice in because, honestly, there are high schools that
have better facilities than what we've been in the last 25
years" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/19). In CT, Alan Greenberg writes
that the new stadium "will feature a 150-foot replica of a
lighthouse -- Kraft said its beam will shoot two miles into
the sky -- and a bridge across the main end zone entrance"
(HARTFORD COURANT, 4/19). Kraft said that making the
facility "fan-friendly was a priority." Kraft: "We are the
only people building a new stadium that have had 12 years of
experience owning and operating one. I don't want to
underestimate how important we think that is" (PROVIDENCE
JOURNAL, 4/19). In Boston, Meg Vaillancourt writes that the
Pats "promised football fans a 'pleasure palace.'" The
$325M cost of the new stadium represents a 30% increase over
the $250M the team had "predicted just a year ago." While
the team has "ruled out" selling PSLs, they "plan to sell
stadium naming rights to help recoup their investment"
(BOSTON GLOBE, 4/19). To take a virtual tour of the new
facility, visit http://www.patriots.com.
SAVE SCHAEFER CAMPAIGN? Patriots VP/Corporate Marketing
Dan Kraft said that there has not been a movement to save
Foxboro Stadium: "That's the one good thing through all this
- we don't have to deal with any crazy people trying to save
the old stadium" (BOSTON HERALD, 4/19).
