Patriots Owner Robert Kraft defends his proposal for a
new stadium in an op-ed in the BOSTON GLOBE titled, "Blame
The Speaker For Stadium Stalemate." Kraft: "Due to what can
best be described as shortsighted intransigence on the part
of the leadership of the [MA] House, another legislative
session has ended without passage of a measure that would
secure the future of the New England Patriots in
Massachusetts." Kraft reviews his plan for a new facility
and writes, "Unlike nearly all professional sports
franchises nationwide, the Patriots have not sought taxpayer
support to construct a stadium. ... The bottom line is that
Foxboro Stadium on its own does not allow the Patriots to
compete with the rest of the league. This is what this
entire stadium effort is about" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/31).
WHAT NEXT? In Boston, Michael Gee wrote that in "the
real world, Kraft should get the best deal inside the New
England football zone he can. Providence isn't Panama.
Nashua, N.H., isn't [R]ome." Gee added that the "thousands"
of fans who attend the team's training camp in RI "indicate
ticket-buyers wouldn't miss a beat if the team moved to new
digs, as long as they didn't have to canoe to get there"
(BOSTON HERALD, 7/30). A HARTFORD COURANT editorial states
that the team relocating to CT is a "long, long, long shot."
Even if Kraft is given the "cold shoulder" in MA, "there's
no certainty" that Hartford and CT "would be willing to meet
his terms" (HARTFORD COURANT, 7/31).
