desi-patsfan

I agree...Wish Kraft would just build the Rev's a nice small stadium somewhere.

Tunescribe

Sunday was the worst I've ever seen it from soccer damage. I'm sure when the soccer and concert seasons are over, they'll re-sod.

Tunescribe

They'd probably do much better attendance-wise closer to the city. But the problem is that Gillette was built with soccer in mind. You'll notice that the width of the soccer pitch is the reason for so much room between the sidelines and the stands when laid out for football. We'd have a much tighter, more intimate stadium for the Patriots if it wasn't for soccer.

T-ShirtDynasty

I love that torn up field! Especially when it rains. Corey's a mudder y'know. He loves the slop. Eats it up! Matter of fact, his father was a mudder. His mother was a mudder.

I do love me a game of football in the mud.

italian pat patriot

so...the worst places to go (fans base) are:

Phi
Cin
Oak

am i missing something ?


i would like to see a Ne @ Buf game...

Tunescribe

I started going to the Pats games in Buffalo in 2001. Tickets are easy to get, the trip is not as bad as it looks (straight shot on Route 90), and the Bills fans are OK. The stadium is old and generic and there's only one jumbotron. Parking is only $5!

CTPatsFan

On a side note and at the risk of boring everyone to death, I work in the turf field industry (sports and golf course) and one of the associations we belong to had an open house at Gillette just after it opened. We got to meet with the groundskeeper (at that time), who's name escapes me right now, and he explained how Kraft flew him around to all of the new stadiums to talk with the groundskeepers there to see what the liked, didn't like and would change with their new stadium. BK took all of this into consideration when they were building the field surface, no expense was spared (including zone field heating and air circulation).

Fast forward a year and long story short. BB wants to practice on the field. Groundskeeper says no, the field needs the off-time to recover and grow and the Revolution also play on the field. BB wants to practice on the field during the week, tells BK, BK tells groundskeeper, groundskeeper resigns. Field goes to heck. And continues to. Remember the Titans playoff game? The NFL made the Pats re-sod the field.

BB dictates the condition of the field, not the groundskeeper. They have the ability to micromanage the growing conditions on that field if they wanted to. It's funny, for the first couple of years, the companies that did the sub-surface heating/air, irrigation and turf seed/fertilizer all heavily featured their product involvement at Gillette. Not so much now, even at trade shows there is little more than a passing mention.

Being a turf guy it would pain me to see the field in the condition it always is if it weren't for BB wanting it that way. If it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me!

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Triumph

My experiences and opinion. Everyones is different.


BEST

Reliant Houston - Best of both worlds. Natural grass and a retractable dome. Relatively easy to get to, but parking seemed limited. Very loud with the roof closed. Fans are good. Tailgating not as popular as other venues. I was there in 03 regular season game and sat @ the 50 right behind the NE bench. Branch was telling Houston fans "We'll be back" ****y SOB. Also, went back to Houston for SB38 (couldnt get a ticket) but, it was a great time. Houston really knows how to throw a SB party.

Arrowhead KC - Older outdoor stadium (est 1974). Easy to get to and plenty of parking. Very loud. Fans can be babies if youre not wearing red. The high water mark for tailgating IMO. There is literally a cloud of BBQ smoke hovering over the stadium and parking lots.

Univ of Ill -Champagne (Tony Eason) - Old stadium thats a mini replica of soldier field (Butkus's old stomping grounds). Bears played there while Soldier field was being renovated in 2002. Small college town. Kind of old school parking on a grass lot with some Archie Bunker guy smoking a cigar directing traffic. Fans were really great and very knowledgeable. Real football fans. Good tailgating.

FAIR TO MIDLAND

Invesco Denver - Been there twice and NE has lost twice. Nice town, but folks are kinda snobby. Stadium is easy to get to (downtown). Fans are good for the most part until they are certain they've won. Tailgating is OK.

Paul Brown Cincinnati - Stadium is nothing special IMO. Easy access, but limited parking. The stadium borders the Ohio River (IIRC) on one side so there isnt much parking on that side. It didnt strike me as a big tailgating town in 2001. Fans can be Aholes especially if they've won.

WORST

Edward Jones Dome St Louis - Stadium is kind of a dump. Cheap plastic seats. Fans are good. Limited parking so tailgating isnt that great.

Georgia Dome Atlanta - Stadium is alright. They are already talking about replacing it. Hard to find the parking lot youre assigned to if you buy parking before hand. No signs. Fans are OK. There is tailgating, but the lots are all fragmented.

Tunescribe

Very interesting. Why do you think BB likes a crummy field? And what's your opinion of injury rate/severity on field turf vs. natural grass? (Be honest -- remember, you're anonymous here.)