Howard Gillette Jr Popular Books

Howard Gillette Jr Biography & Facts

Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is 22 miles (35 km) 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. 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. 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. Jeremiah Freed was the opening band at the WBCN River Rave on June 9, making them the first band to play at the stadium. 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. The stadium was originally known as CMGI Field before the naming rights were bought by Gillette after the "dot-com" bust. 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. Additionally, uBid (a wholly owned subsidiary of CMGI until 2003) continued to sponsor one of the main entrance gates to the stadium. 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; by September 2016, it had reached 231 games. 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. 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. History Foxboro Stadium 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. 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. 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. 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. Location discussions 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 Conn.... Discover the Howard Gillette Jr popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Howard Gillette Jr books.