Gillette Stadium

Gillette Stadium

Gillette Stadium in 2007
Gillette Stadium Location in Massachusetts Show map of Massachusetts Gillette Stadium Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Former names	CMGI Field (May 11–August 4, 2002)
Address	1 Patriot Place
Location	Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
Coordinates	42°05′28″N 71°15′50″W / 42.091°N 71.264°W / 42.091; -71.264
Public transit	Franklin/Foxboro   Providence/Stoughton Line  at Foxboro (regular service for Franklin/Foxboro Line, game days only for Providence Line)
Owner	Kraft Group
Operator	Kraft Group
Executive suites	82
Capacity	American football: 64,628 (2023–present)[1] 65,878 (2015–2023) 68,756 (2002–2014) Soccer: 20,000 (expandable)[2]
Record attendance	71,723 (concert; Ed Sheeran, July 1, 2023)
Field size	American football: 120 yd × 53 1/3 yd[3] Soccer: 116 yd × 75 yd
Surface	FieldTurf (2006–present) Grass (2002–2006)
Construction
Broke ground	March 24, 2000 (2000-03-24)
Opened	May 11, 2002 (2002-05-11)
Renovated	2023 (2023)
Construction cost	$325 million ($551 million in 2023[4])
Architect	HOK Sport (now Populous)
Project manager	Barton Malow[5]
Structural engineer	Bliss and Nyitray, Inc.
Services engineer	Vanderweil Engineers[6]
General contractor	Skanska[5]
Tenants
New England Patriots (NFL) (2002–present) New England Revolution (MLS) (2002–present) Massachusetts Minutemen (NCAA) (2012–2016, 2018) Boston Cannons (MLL/PLL) (2015, 2024–future) New England Revolution II (MLS Next Pro) (2020–present)
Website
gillettestadium.com

Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States. The stadium is 22 miles (35 km)^[7][8] southwest of downtown Boston, Massachusetts and 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Providence, Rhode Island. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for both the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL) and the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer (MLS). It opened in 2002, replacing the adjacent Foxboro Stadium.^[9][10] It also served as the home venue for the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Minutemen football team in 2012 and 2013, while on-campus Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium underwent renovations; it continued to serve as a part-time home venue for higher attendance UMass games through 2018. Gillette Stadium's seating capacity is 64,628, including 5,876 club seats and 82 luxury suites.

The town of Foxborough approved plans for the stadium's construction on December 6, 1999, and work on the stadium began on March 24, 2000.^[11] The first official event at the stadium was an MLS soccer game on May 11, 2002, where the New England Revolution defeated Dallas Burn, 2–0.^[9][12] Jeremiah Freed was the opening band at the WBCN River Rave on June 9, making them the first band to play at the stadium.^[13] Grand opening ceremonies were held on September 9, when the Patriots unveiled their Super Bowl XXXVI championship banner before a Monday Night Football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.^[14] The stadium was originally known as CMGI Field before the naming rights were bought by Gillette after the "dot-com" bust.^[15] Although Gillette was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 2005, the stadium retains the Gillette name. In September 2010, Gillette and the Patriots announced that their partnership, which includes naming rights to the stadium, would extend through the 2031 season.^[16] Additionally, uBid (a wholly owned subsidiary of CMGI until 2003) continued to sponsor one of the main entrance gates to the stadium.^[17]

Gillette Stadium is served by special MBTA Commuter Rail service from Boston and Providence during events, plus regular weekday service via the Franklin/Foxboro Line, at Foxboro station. The Patriots have sold out every home game since moving to the stadium—preseason, regular season, and playoffs. This streak dates back to the 1994 season at Foxboro Stadium;^[18] by September 2016, it had reached 231 games.^[18] The stadium is owned and operated by Kraft Sports Group, a subsidiary of the Kraft Group, the company through which businessman Robert Kraft owns the Patriots and Revolution.^[19]

The stadium is set to host several matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Due to FIFA rules regarding stadium sponsorships, Gillette will be known as Boston Stadium for the tournament, in reference to the Greater Boston area the stadium sits on.^[20][21][22]

From 1971 to 2001, the Patriots played all of their home games at Foxboro Stadium. The stadium was privately funded on an extremely small budget and featured few amenities. Its aluminum benches would freeze over during cold-weather games and it had an unorganized dirt parking lot.^[23]

Foxboro Stadium did not bring in the profits needed to keep an NFL team in New England; at just over 60,000 seats, it was one of the NFL's smallest stadiums.^[24][25]

In 1984, team executive Chuck Sullivan funded the Victory Tour of The Jacksons, in an attempt to earn more profit for the team. Tickets sales failed, however, and the team's debt increased even further – to a final total of US$126 million.^[26] After two unsuccessful owners bought the team and stadium, it was clear that a new stadium had to be built for the team to stay in New England. This is when other cities in the New England area, including Boston (which was previously home to the Patriots), Hartford, and Providence became interested in building new stadiums to lure the Patriots away from Foxborough.^[27]

The first major stadium proposal from another city came in September 1993. Lowell Weicker, the Governor of Connecticut, proposed to the Connecticut General Assembly that a new stadium should be built in Hartford to attract the Patriots to move there, stating that a stadium had "potentially great benefit" if it were built. The bill passed in the State Assembly on September 27, 1993.^[28]

Back in Massachusetts, there was a proposal to build a "Megaplex" in Boston, which would be the site of the stadium, as well as a new Fenway Park (the home park of the Boston Red Sox) and a convention center. The proposed sites for this hybrid convention center-stadium were along Summer Street in South Boston or at the so-called Crosstown site along Melnea Cass Boulevard in Roxbury, adjacent to Boston's South End. The administration of Massachusetts Governor William Weld pushed for construction of a full "Megaplex" at the crosstown site, with then-new Boston Mayor Thomas Menino favoring construction of a new, stand-alone convention center in South Boston. Ultimately, the residents of neither of these neighborhoods wanted a stadium, and as a result, Menino backed out, fearing that it would affect his chance at re-election.^[29] The Fenway Park plan was cancelled after many "Save Fenway Park!" groups popped up to save the historic ballpark.

Kraft then began a plan to build a new stadium in South Boston. In that plan, Kraft was to pay for the stadium himself, hoping to win the support of Weld and Menino. He began to sketch designs, but the project was leaked to the press in December 1996. The residents of South Boston objected to a stadium being built in that location, causing Menino and Weld to become angry at Kraft. Kraft abandoned all plans for a Boston Stadium after the affair.^[30] In January 1997, Kraft began talks with Providence mayor Vincent Cianci to relocate the team to Providence and build a new stadium there. The proposed 68,000-seat domed stadium would have cost $250 million, and would have been paid through income taxes, public bonds, surcharges on tickets, and private funds. Residents of the neighborhood of the proposed project were extremely opposed to the project because the surrounding area would have needed massive infrastructure improvements. The proposal fell through after a few weeks.^[31]

During a news conference in September 1998, the team revealed plans to build a new stadium in Foxborough, keeping the team in Massachusetts. It was to be funded by the state as well as Kraft himself. This plan brought more competition from Connecticut, as a $1 billion plan to renovate an area of Hartford, including building a stadium.^[32] Kraft then signed an agreement to move the team to Hartford on November 18, 1998. The proposed stadium included 68,000 seats, 60 luxury boxes, and had a projected cost of $375 million.^[33] As before in Boston and Providence, construction of the stadium was challenged by the residents. Problems with the site were discovered, and an agreement could not be reached regarding the details of the stadium. The entire plan eventually fell through, enraging then Connecticut governor John G. Rowland, who lobbied hard for the stadium and spent weeks deliberating with Robert Kraft.^[34] Rowland announced at a press conference that he was officially "a New York Jets fan, now and probably forever".^[35] In 1999, the team officially announced that it would remain in Foxborough, which led to Gillette Stadium's construction.^[36] After the Hartford proposal fell through, Robert Kraft paid for 100% of the construction costs, a rare instance of an NFL owner privately financing the construction of a stadium.

On April 18, 2000, the team revealed plans for the new stadium in Foxborough.^[37] It was announced as a 68,000-seat stadium at a cost of $325 million, with the entire cost privately funded. Boston is thus the only city in professional sports in which all facilities are privately owned and operated.^{[citation needed]} The Kraft Group (owner of the NFL team the Patriots and the MLS team the Revolution) owns Gillette Stadium, the Red Sox own Fenway Park, and TD Garden is owned by Delaware North (the owner of the Bruins) (the Celtics rent the TD Garden from Delaware North).

Concurrently announced was a new road to access the stadium from U.S. Route 1, and an additional 3,000 parking spaces to accommodate the increased number of fans.^[37]

The stadium was designed by HOK Sport (now Populous). Kraft wanted it modeled on M&T Bank Stadium which had opened in Baltimore in 1998. Kraft insisted on it having a "front door" with a Disneyland-like entrance. Populous went through 200 designs before coming up with one that Kraft liked.^[38] The entrance includes a lighthouse (which was originally designed to shoot a light 2 miles (3.2 km) high) and a bridge modeled on Boston's Longfellow Bridge.^[39] The lighthouse and bridge are now featured on the stadium's logo.

For the first eight years of its existence, the stadium used a video display, with a smaller LED scoreboard just beneath it, at each end of the field. The south side also had a large LED scoreboard in addition to the smaller one. In 2010, the stadium installed two new HD Daktronics video displays to replace the entire previous setup at both ends.^{[citation needed]} At the time of their construction, the larger screen, at 41.5 feet tall and 164 feet wide (12.6 m x 50.0 m), was the second-largest video monitor in any NFL stadium; only AT&T Stadium had a larger one.^[40]

Gillette Stadium ranks first among all NFL venues in stadium food safety with 0% critical violations.^[41] The Gillette Stadium food service, instead of being outsourced like most NFL teams, is run in-house and is led by the Patriots executive director of foods and beverage David Wheeler.^[42]

From January 18, 2021, to June 14, 2021, Gillette Stadium was used as a mass distribution site for the COVID-19 vaccine, with a total of 610,283 shots being administered.^[43][44]

Marking the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, a memorial garden was installed outside Gillette Stadium. It has a semicircle of six flowering trees, a commemorative plaque, a mural, and tribute stones with the names of the victims.^[45]

On December 10, 2021, a $225 million renovation project was announced. Construction began in January 2022 and was completed in September 2023. The renovations included a new 22,000-square-foot outdoor video board installed at the north end, the largest video board of its kind in the United States.^{[citation needed]} A new lighthouse, which reaches 218 feet at the top, provides 360-degree views of the stadium, Patriot Place, Foxborough, and beyond.^{[citation needed][promotion?]} 75,000 square feet of hospitality and function spaces were constructed to connect the East and West Putnam Clubs, the Dell Technology Suite Levels, and the upper concourse. The construction of these new spaces connected all levels 360 degrees. A new plaza and fan entrance were also built on the stadium's north end.^[46]

The venue has hosted the NFL's nationally–televised primetime season-opening games in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2015, 2017, and 2019 (when the Patriots unveiled their championship banners from Super Bowls XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX, LI, and LIII.) The first ever NFL game at the stadium was held on September 9, 2002, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, a 30–14 Patriots victory. The stadium's first playoff game was held the next year following the 2003 regular season. Playing in the Divisional Round against the Tennessee Titans, the Patriots hosted the coldest game (4 °F (2 °C), −12 °F (−7 °C) wind chill) in New England Patriots history. The Patriots won 17–14. The stadium also played host to the 2003 AFC Championship Game, in which the Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts 24–14.^[47]

The Patriots won the first seven playoff games held at the stadium between the 2003 and 2007 seasons, including the 2007 AFC Championship Game, where they beat the San Diego Chargers to improve to 18–0 and advance to Super Bowl XLII. On January 10, 2010, the Baltimore Ravens beat the Patriots 33–14, giving the Patriots their first home loss in the playoffs in Gillette Stadium. The Patriots suffered their second consecutive home playoff loss on January 16, 2011, in a 28–21 New York Jets victory. During the 2011–12 NFL playoffs, the Patriots defeated the Denver Broncos, 45–10, and the stadium hosted its third AFC Championship, where they won against the Baltimore Ravens, 23–20. However, the New York Giants ruined the Patriots' season by beating them in the Super Bowl for the second time. The following year, they again hosted the AFC Championship game, where they lost 28–13 to the Baltimore Ravens in the final game for long-term Patriots radio announcer Gil Santos. During the Divisional Round of the 2014–15 NFL playoffs, the Patriots avenged their 2012 defeat by the Baltimore Ravens by beating them 35–31. The following week, they defeated the Indianapolis Colts 45–7 in the 2014 AFC Championship. The stadium hosted its sixth AFC Championship game during the 2016 playoffs, as the Patriots defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 36–17. The seventh AFC Championship hosted at Gillette Stadium came the next year, when the Patriots knocked off the Jacksonville Jaguars by a score of 24–20. In the 2018 season, Gillette Stadium hosted a Divisional Round game, as the Patriots knocked off the Los Angeles Chargers by a score of 41–28 on the way to winning Super Bowl LIII. In Tom Brady's final game as a Patriot, they were upset by the Tennessee Titans in the First Round of the 2019 playoffs with a loss of 20–13. Entering the 2023 season, the Patriots had an all-time playoff record of 19–4 at the stadium.

As part of the UMass football program's move to Division I FBS, the Minutemen played all of their home games at Gillette Stadium for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. The stadium is 95 miles away from the UMass campus in Amherst—the longest trip of any FBS member. The Minutemen's on-campus stadium, Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium, was not suitable for FBS football in its previous configuration. Its small size (17,000 seats) would have made it prohibitively difficult to meet FBS average attendance requirements, and its press box and replay facilities were well below Mid-American Conference standards. Additionally, several nonconference teams would not even consider playing games in Amherst. McGuirk Stadium was renovated to FBS standards for the 2014 season, but the Minutemen's current deal with the Kraft Group calls for the Minutemen to play four of their home games in Foxborough from 2014 to 2016 in exchange for keeping part of the revenue from ticket sales.^[48][49] Moving forward, Gillette continued to host UMass football for games of anticipated larger attendance.

In 2023, Gillette Stadium was used as a neutral site for the Army–Navy Game.^[50] Navy will also play their rivalry game with Notre Dame in Foxborough in 2026.^[51]

Date	Away Team	Result	Home Team	Attendance
October 23, 2010	New Hampshire	39–13	UMass Amherst	32,848
October 22, 2011	New Hampshire	27–21	UMass Amherst	24,022
September 8, 2012	Indiana	45–6	UMass Amherst	16,304
September 29, 2012	Ohio	37–34	UMass Amherst	8,321
October 20, 2012	Bowling Green	24–0	UMass Amherst	10,846
November 17, 2012	Buffalo	29–19	UMass Amherst	12,649
November 23, 2012	Central Michigan	42–21	UMass Amherst	6,385
September 7, 2013	Maine	24–14	UMass Amherst	15,624
September 21, 2013	Vanderbilt	24–7	UMass Amherst	16,419
October 12, 2013	Miami (OH)	10–17	UMass Amherst	21,707
October 26, 2013	Western Michigan	31–30	UMass Amherst	20,571
November 2, 2013	Northern Illinois	63–19	UMass Amherst	10,061
November 16, 2013	Akron	14–13	UMass Amherst	10,599
August 30, 2014	Boston College	30–7	UMass Amherst	30,479
September 6, 2014	Colorado	41–38	UMass Amherst	10,227
October 18, 2014	Eastern Michigan	14–36	UMass Amherst	12,030
September 19, 2015	Temple	25–23	UMass Amherst	10,141
October 24, 2015	Toledo	51–35	UMass Amherst	12,793
November 7, 2015	Akron	17–13	UMass Amherst	6,228
September 10, 2016	Boston College	26–7	UMass Amherst	25,112
September 24, 2016	Mississippi State	47–35	UMass Amherst	13,074
October 15, 2016	Louisiana Tech	56–28	UMass Amherst	13,311
November 10, 2018	BYU	35–16	UMass Amherst	14,082
December 9, 2023	Army	17–11	Navy	65,878
October 31, 2026	Notre Dame		Navy

Gillette Stadium also hosted the eighth edition of the NHL Winter Classic, between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens, on January 1, 2016.^[52]

Date	Away Team	Result	Home Team	Event	Spectators
December 31, 2015	Les Canadiennes de Montreal	1–1	Boston Pride	2016 Outdoor Women's Classic	-
January 1, 2016	Montreal Canadiens	5–1	Boston Bruins	2016 NHL Winter Classic	67,246

Memorable Major League Soccer playoff victories include wins over the Chicago Fire in the 2005 and 2007 Eastern Conference Final, sending the Revs to the MLS Cup. Additionally, the venue hosted MLS Cup 2002, four games of the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, and some Copa America Centenario matches in 2016.

The crowd of 61,316 drawn to the 2002 MLS Cup Final was the largest stand-alone MLS post-season crowd on record until the 2018 MLS Cup in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.^[53] The stadium's soccer attendance record would once again be broken on April 27, 2024 during a regular season match between the Revolution and Inter Miami CF, who had signed Lionel Messi the year prior; 65,612 would watch the Revolution fall 1–4.^[54]

Date	Winning Team	Result	Losing Team	Tournament	Spectators
October 20, 2002	Los Angeles Galaxy	1–0	New England Revolution	MLS Cup 2002	61,316

Date	Winning Team	Result	Losing Team	Tournament	Spectators
May 19, 2002	Netherlands	2–0	United States	Friendly	36,778
July 11, 2003	United States	2–0	El Salvador	2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup First Round	33,652
	Canada	1–0	Costa Rica
July 13, 2003	United States	2–0	Martinique	2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup First Round	8,780
	Cuba	2–0	Canada
July 15, 2003	El Salvador	1–0	Martinique	2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup First Round	10,361
	Costa Rica	3–0	Cuba
July 19, 2003	United States	5–0	Cuba	2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup Quarterfinals	15,627
	Costa Rica	5–2	El Salvador
June 2, 2004	United States	4–0	Honduras	Friendly	11,533
September 4, 2004	United States	2–0	El Salvador	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification - CONCACAF third round	25,266
July 11, 2005	United States	0–0	Costa Rica	2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup Group B	15,211
	Canada	2–1	Cuba
July 16, 2005	Honduras	3–2	Costa Rica	2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup Quarterfinals	22,108
	United States	3–1	Jamaica
October 12, 2005	United States	2–0	Panama	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification - CONCACAF fourth round	9,192
April 14, 2007	United States women	5–0	Mexico women	Women's International Friendly	18,184
June 12, 2007	United States	4–0	El Salvador	2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup Group B	26,523
	Trinidad and Tobago	1–1	Guatemala
June 16, 2007	Canada	3–0	Guatemala	2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup Quarterfinals	22,412
	United States	2–1	Panama
September 12, 2007	Brazil	3–1	Mexico	Friendly	67,584
June 6, 2008	Venezuela	2–0	Brazil	Friendly	N/A
July 11, 2009	United States	2–2	Haiti	2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup Group B	24,137
	Honduras	4–0	Grenada
June 4, 2011	Spain	4–0	United States	Friendly	64,121
June 15, 2013	United States women	4–1	South Korea women	Women's International Friendly	13,035
September 10, 2013	Brazil	3–1	Portugal	Brasil Global Tour	62,310
June 6, 2014	Portugal	1–0	Mexico	Friendly	56,292
July 10, 2015	Honduras	1–1	Panama	2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup Group A	46,720
	United States	1–0	Haiti
September 8, 2015	Brazil	4–1	United States	Friendly	29,308
June 10, 2016	Chile	2–1	Bolivia	Copa América Centenario Group D	19,392
June 12, 2016	Peru	1–0	Brazil	Copa América Centenario Group B	36,187
June 18, 2016	Argentina	4–1	Venezuela	Copa América Centenario Quarterfinal	59,183
May 19, 2019	Chelsea F.C.	3–0	New England Revolution	Club Friendly	27,329
July 29, 2019	S.L. Benfica	1–0	A.C. Milan	2019 International Champions Cup	27,565

Date	Winning Team	Result	Losing Team	Tournament	Spectators
September 27, 2003	Norway	7–1	South Korea	Group B	14,356
	Canada	3–1	Japan	Group C
October 1, 2003	United States	1–0	Norway	Quarterfinals	25,103
	Sweden	2–1	Brazil

Gillette Stadium will host seven matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup: five group stage, one Round of 32, and one quarterfinal.^[55] It is one of eleven US venues selected to host matches during the tournament. During the event, the stadium will be temporarily renamed to "Boston Stadium" in accordance with FIFA's policy on corporate sponsored names.^[56]

Gillette Stadium hosted the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships in 2008, 2009, 2012, 2017, and 2018 and was the home of the Boston Cannons for the 2015 season.

Dates	Tournaments	Result			Spectators
		DI	DII	DIII
May 10–26, 2008	Division I Men's, Division II & Division III	Syracuse	NYIT	Salisbury	97,194
May 9–25, 2009	Division I Men's, Division II & Division III	Syracuse	C.W. Post	Cortland State	78,529
May 9–25, 2012	Division I Men's, Division II & Division III	Loyola (MD)	Dowling	Salisbury	62,590
May 12–28, 2017	Division I Women's	Maryland	-	-	11,668
May 13–29, 2017	Division I Men's, Division II & Division III	Maryland	Limestone	Salisbury	59,501
May 12–28, 2018	Division I Men's, Division II & Division III	Yale	Merrimack	Wesleyan	60,071

Date	Away	Result	Home	Spectators
April 12, 2015	Denver Outlaws	13–16	Boston Cannons	4,285
April 26, 2015	Charlotte Hounds	12–11 (OT)	Boston Cannons	3,612
May 3, 2015	New York Lizards	15–13	Boston Cannons	4,713
May 17, 2015	Rochester Rattlers	16–17 (OT)	Boston Cannons	5,654
May 30, 2015	Florida Launch	9–13	Boston Cannons	10,142
June 28, 2015	Chesapeake Bayhawks	11–14	Boston Cannons	7,211
July 11, 2015	Ohio Machine	19–12	Boston Cannons	6,813

Source:^[57]

On February 15, 2019, the Premier Lacrosse League announced that Boston would be the first city on the schedule for the 2019 season.^[58] It was also announced that Gillette Stadium would be the venue to host the league on June 1 and 2. The PLL was planning on returning to Gillette for the 2020 season, but the COVID-19 pandemic put the season on pause and the league scrapped their 2020 schedule.

On June 2, 2019, Gillette will host a handful of games for the Women's Professional Lacrosse League to start their 2019 season.^[59]

The AMA Supercross Championship has been racing at Gillette Stadium since 2016.^{[citation needed]}

Monster Jam has been coming to the stadium since 2014.^{[citation needed]}

On November 14, 2006, two days after a rainstorm contributed to the deterioration of the grass surface in a Patriots game against the Jets, team management decided to replace the natural grass surface with a synthetic surface, FieldTurf. Normally, NFL rules insist that such work could only be done during the off-season; however, the grass field was in such poor condition, the league agreed to waive the rule. The entire job was done during a two-week road trip, with three shifts working around the clock. The Patriots' first game on the surface was a victory over the previously 9–1 Chicago Bears on November 26. Brady and his teammates commended the much-improved surface. At the conclusion of the 2007 season, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had a career record of 31–3 on artificial turf. The team lost a preseason matchup in August 2007 to the Tennessee Titans on the new FieldTurf but otherwise won its first eleven regular-season and playoff games on the surface covering the period of November 2006 until September 2008, when the Patriots lost to the Miami Dolphins.

In February 2010, the surface was pulled and upgraded to FieldTurf "Duraspine Pro", which was expected to meet FIFA standards that the previous turf did not, preventing the team from having to place sod on top of their turf to host international soccer matches.^[84]

The surface was upgraded again in April 2014 to FieldTurf "Revolution" with "VersaTile" drainage system. The FieldTurf Revolution product is currently used at many venues across North America, including Lumen Field (home to the NFL's Seattle Seahawks and MLS's Seattle Sounders) and Providence Park, home of the MLS's Portland Timbers, where its installation was recently completed.^[85]

When the field is configured for American football, the Patriots have their "Flying Elvis" logo (or "Pat Patriot" if they are wearing throwback uniforms) painted on the field at dead center of the 50-yard line. Off to both sides along the 50-yard line, the Gillette Stadium logo is also painted on the field. This is a gray-and-blue stylized representation of the bridge and tower at the north entrance of the stadium.

In 2006, the Patriots and Kraft announced plans to build a "super regional lifestyle and entertainment center" in the area around Gillette Stadium named Patriot Place.^[86][87] The cost of the project was $350 million, more than the cost to build Gillette Stadium itself; Kraft had purchased much of the surrounding land, about 700 acres (280 ha), when he bought Foxboro Stadium in the late 1980s.^[88]

The first phase of the project opened in fall of 2007,^[89] and featured the first Bass Pro Shops in New England, as well as Circuit City (now closed), Bed Bath & Beyond, Five Guys Burgers, Christmas Tree Shops, and Staples.^[88] In December 2007, the Patriots and CBS announced plans to build a themed restaurant and nightclub, named "CBS Scene", at the site, which would also include studios for CBS-owned WBZ-TV.^[90] The restaurant was part of the second phase of the project, which included an open mall, a health center, a Cinema de Lux movie theater, a four-star Renaissance hotel, and "The Hall at Patriot Place". Attached to Gillette Stadium, the Hall includes a two-level interactive museum honoring the Patriots accomplishments and Super Bowl championships, plus the Patriots Pro Shop.^[91] The first restaurants and stores in phase two began opening in July 2008, and were followed by the openings of the Hall at Patriot Place and the CBS Scene in time for the beginning of the 2008 New England Patriots season. More locations, including the health center and hotel, opened in 2009, along with additional sites in phase one.

Panorama of Gillette Stadium, taken from the south end, in 2007. Many renovations have been made since.

• List of American football stadiums by capacity
• List of current NFL stadiums
• Lists of stadiums

• Roberts, Randy (2005). The Rock, the Curse, and the Hub. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01504-3.
• Foulds, Alan E. (2005). Boston's Ballparks & Arenas. University Press of New England. ISBN 978-1-58465-409-4.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gillette Stadium.

• Official website
• Official Patriot Place Website