The MLS Revolution, owned by the Kraft family, is "widely regarded as one of the worst franchises" in MLS, as the club has earned "a reputation as one of the cheaper franchises in the league," according to Kevin Alexander of BOSTON magazine. On top of "poor attendance, the Revs are one of just three MLS teams without solid plans" for a soccer-specific stadium. Moreover, due to Gillette Stadium's "lifeless atmosphere" during games, "even megabucks couldn’t lure most veteran MLS and bigtime foreign players to dull Foxboro." Management "seems ill inclined to spend the money needed to help push the squad over the top." Still, without the Kraft family, there "would be no professional soccer in America." They "should rightly be considered among MLS’s founding fathers," and have, "obviously, been amazing owners of the Patriots." This is "what makes their indifference to the Revs so maddening." Revolution supporter group Midnight Riders President Fran Harrington said that one of the "elements keeping the Revs’ numbers down ... is the utter lack of public transportation to the stadium." Harrington admits that even if public transportation were available, it "would only be a temporary salve." Harrington: "I don’t think the organization can move forward a whole lot without getting out of Gillette."
NOT JUST FANS: Fans "aren’t the only ones less than satisfied with their experience at Gillette." The Revs "are one of just four MLS teams not playing on natural grass." And "no one likes to feel like a second-class citizen in their own stadium -- an emotion that may be unavoidable in a venue where there is a sign below the scoreboard that reads 'HOME OF THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS' in giant silver letters." Revs D Chris Tierney said of the club, "It’s just not a place veteran guys are looking to play." NBC Sports soccer commentator Kyle Martino said, "New England has kind of turned into that team where you'd rather hang it up, as a player in your last years, than play at." Though both Krafts are "are listed as 'investor-operators,'" Bob Kraft "has essentially passed the Revolution to Jonathan, and has very little public interaction with the team." While Jonathan Kraft "plays a role on MLS’s executive committee," the "day-to-day running of the club comes down" to President Brian Bilello and GM Michael Burns. But Bilello "is limited in what he can do -- it is, after all, the Krafts' money." Outside of "PR pressure and the occasional exasperated fan Twitter or blog rant, what exactly would motivate them to seriously consider paying heaps of money to move the team to a new downtown stadium?" Hosting the team in Foxboro "allows at least 17 more opportunities per year to drive thousands of people to their stadium-side shopping center, Patriot Place" (BOSTON magazine, 4/ '14 issue).
