The Patriots have three new hangout spots at Gillette Stadium this season that were part of a $30M offseason renovation, and they "will offer up to 1,650 paying customers a more comfortable -- and more expensive -- alternative to grilling food and drinking beer in icy parking lots," according to Callum Borchers of the BOSTON GLOBE. The Optum Field Lounge will allow 750 season-ticket holders to "peer through a wall of windows" to watch players "warm up from behind the south end zone." On the stadium’s main concourse, "a mostly corporate crowd of 500 will fill up on food and beverages in the all-inclusive Cross Insurance Pavilion & Business Center." In the DraftKings Fantasy Sports Zone, "400 regular fans will choose from a dozen craft brews on tap, surrounded by 35 televisions showing other NFL games and streams of fantasy football statistics." Membership in the Optum Field Lounge "is available only to season ticket holders as a $1,500 add-on (three-year packages come at a reduced rate of $1,250 per person, per year)." The Patriots "created the 20,000-square-foot space by removing about 1,500 seats." Members "can head to their seats at kickoff, remain in the lounge to watch the action, or move back and forth between locations." The Cross pavilion "caters to corporate clients, but individuals can purchase memberships, too, and they need not own season tickets." At $6,000 per person, "membership includes a ticket to every home game ... and unlimited food and drink during two-hour pregame receptions." The pavilion and lounge, "each with a 1,000-person capacity for private functions, will also be available for rent on nongame days." The DraftKings Fantasy Sports Zone, which does not require exclusive membership, "will open along with stadium gates two hours before kickoff" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/5).
