Anyone else think Gillette Stadium is very poorly designed?

[nepatz11]

I was in 306 this week usually I sit in lower bowl and I was looking down at the field I was marveling at how poorly designed Gillette Stadium is because there are so many would be great seats in the 200 Bowl that are open spaces now (in the sidelines and the endzones).

At the same time the top ten rows of the stadium are in outer space pretty much. For the fourth quarter my old man and I went down to the banners and stood over there to watch the end. As we watched from that spot in the 200 level I thought to myself these would be amazing seats what a shame there are no seats here. Just curious if anyone else shares my opinion.

 

[signbabybrady]

There were some things done for cosmetics that one would look at as poor design but the real flaw was intential on their part. The coorperate seats take up almost all of the 200 bowl and in the perfect spots between the 20s but it was done that way as they are the ones who pay for the stadium...well the luxary guys too.

In some ways it is a shame that the rich guys can't be loud but you can't complain to much as they are picking up a large portion of the tab that we would have been paying for.

And I must say that I love the way the stadium looks. I think it is a very nice peice of arcitecture made to look real nice by the accesseries in the back left corner

 

[Leave No Doubt]

I like the bridge-it adds interest and makes everything beyond it seem more of an extension of the stadium proper.

That said, I agree about the upper tiers...yikes. People say it feels almost like a complete vertical drop. I guess the stairs are killer in that respect too, unless you're into rappelling

 

[condon84]

I've been to Gillette just once. Last year in the AFC championship game. Aesthetically, I love how the stadium looks. But I think it doesn't allow noise to get magnified like in other stadiums I've been in. Might be that the fans really don't like to get all loud, but there are large gaps where noise escapes. I lived in South Florida for a while and have been to Pro Player a bunch and that place gets loud. It's not state-of-the-art stadium, but it's pretty loud. I now live outside of DC/Baltimore and went to the Monday night game last year and that place was ELECTRIC! Everybody was jacked and I couldn't hear myself think. The Ravens have a great home field advantage IMO because of the crowd noise. The noise level reminded me of the University of Miami games I attended in the Orange bowl. It was nuts.

In the AFCCG, the crowd noise was 'meh'. I was pretty disappointed. The facility was great however.

 

[Rob0729]

I was in 306 this week usually I sit in lower bowl and I was looking down at the field I was marveling at how poorly designed Gillette Stadium is because there are so many would be great seats in the 200 Bowl that are open spaces now (in the sidelines and the endzones).

At the same time the top ten rows of the stadium are in outer space pretty much. For the fourth quarter my old man and I went down to the banners and stood over there to watch the end. As we watched from that spot in the 200 level I thought to myself these would be amazing seats what a shame there are no seats here. Just curious if anyone else shares my opinion.

The problem is that the club seats and luxary boxes have really moved the 300 section away from the field. I had tickets on the 40 yard line in the 300 section in Foxboro stadium. Those seats are now $3-5k club seats. I think I paid $50 a ticket in 2001 for them.

I am in the 200 section now under the banners (maybe you saw me) and I am farther away from the field with a horrible siteline angle. Part of the reason why I went from going to every game to only a handful a year.

There are definitely advantages of the new stadium (no more fighting for arse space on benches anymore). But there are disadvantages like needing a oxygen tank to sit in the upper section of the 300 level.

 

[captadamnj]

In the AFCCG, the crowd noise was 'meh'.

The fact that half the fans mouths were covered might have had something to do with it...got a bottle of water at half time...it was frozen by the 4th quarter!

The seating ay not be the greatest from a functional standpoint, but the lighthouse/bridge is a thing of beauty. But I suppose from my avatar you could've guessed I was kind of partial to that...

 

[scout]

The fact that half the fans mouths were covered might have had something to do with it...got a bottle of water at half time...it was frozen by the 4th quarter!

The seating ay not be the greatest from a functional standpoint, but the lighthouse/bridge is a thing of beauty. But I suppose from my avatar you could've guessed I was kind of partial to that...

Oh but the lighthouse and bridge are so quaint.
Tear them down and put them outside as some type of amusement park. In there place build seats which would enclose the stadium, make more money, and produce more noise. Everybody wins.

 

[drew4008]

At least it's not like this:

 

[JAYHAWKS34]

I was in 306 this week usually I sit in lower bowl and I was looking down at the field I was marveling at how poorly designed Gillette Stadium is because there are so many would be great seats in the 200 Bowl that are open spaces now (in the sidelines and the endzones).

At the same time the top ten rows of the stadium are in outer space pretty much. For the fourth quarter my old man and I went down to the banners and stood over there to watch the end. As we watched from that spot in the 200 level I thought to myself these would be amazing seats what a shame there are no seats here. Just curious if anyone else shares my opinion.

I wouldn’t go as far as saying it is poorly designed but there are things I would have done differently in building the stadium, but hey there is more then one way to skin a cat

 

[Patjew]

This may be sacrilege, but I hate the lighthouse. My father calls it "the torch", not to be funny but because he keeps forgetting what it's supposed to be.

 

[AzPatsFan]

I criticized the Razor design before anyone else, back when it was being designed.

First of all it obsolete when built as it was TOO SMALL. It only has 68,756 seats. Every other stadium in the AFCE has a minimum of 5000 to 22,000 more seats. ( Giants Jets abuilding). It was obvious once all had plenty of premium seats, absolute seating capacity makes the difference. After the last CBA, the benefits of lux boxes are now gone.

It holds no Noise. There is lots of unused space.

There was no provision to provide an area for fans to stimulate the players like the proverbial "Dog Pound" in the massive Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Football is a game of emotions and Gillette provides little incentives to stir the emotions.

 

[BlitzFritz]

i think the open spaces you are talking about are there so that there is no wind swirl. most modern outdoor stadiums i believe now have a way for wind to move from end to end. they are not pure bowls.

i agree that 300s are way way up there.
i like the lighthouse in the forest

 

[Ice Cold Bruschi]

My biggest complaint is that its not very conducive to holding the noise in the stadium

 

[patriotsdynasty12189]

It is beautiful, it's not designed to keep in sound, it's designed to be a great venue for Football and it really does have that "small town" look you know?

 

[Water Boy]

I think Gilette stadium is a major disappointment. It looks nice, but is not well designed for football. I believe the Krafts were influenced by some of the newer baseball stadiums that had an open air feel that allows you to view the field from the concession areas. This combined with the Fidelity club seats in the heart of the stadium has made it by far the quietest in the NFL.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I think Gilette stadium is a major disappointment. It looks nice, but is not well designed for football. I believe the Krafts were influenced by some of the newer baseball stadiums that had an open air feel that allows you to view the field from the concession areas. This combined with the Fidelity club seats in the heart of the stadium has made it by far the quietest in the NFL.

+1

Looks great but the rabid fans, many of those in the 300s are too far away to make noise. The 200s red seats are sparsely populated. Nobody's gonna be in them Thurs night with 40 degree rain. Add the stupid lighthouse open end and the open concourses in the opposite EZ and sound escapes rather than being reflected.

 

[BionicPatriot]

Absolutely beautiful place, but I prefer the bowl style. It's not meant to get loud by its structure. Bowls frickin' shake

 

[fgssand]

I LOVE Gillette - I love the design, comfort and convenience, but MOST of all - I love the fact we are 51-10 there, going on 52-10 and I haven't missed a game since it opened!!

 

[JoeyC]

My wife and I went to our first game this year. Our seats were in the 300 section. For the most part we liked the stadium until we got to our seats. We had a staircase landing right in our line of sight and had to look through the glass to see the other of the field. I was surprised that a modern stadium would have that flaw.

 

[NEGIRLPATSFAN]

My wife and I went to our first game this year. Our seats were in the 300 section. For the most part we liked the stadium until we got to our seats. We had a staircase landing right in our line of sight and had to look through the glass to see the other of the field. I was surprised that a modern stadium would have that flaw.

View attachment 1789

Holy Vertigo, Joey C
Thanks for the pics man, I could never make it up there, My heart is in overdrive just looking at it......:stars2: