Wasn't that near the harness racing track??? OR adjacent to it??SamBamsFan said:Dave Marr, the construction guy, actually let Billy Sullivan build Schaefer Stadium on a lot that he hadn't developed in Foxborough. As I remember, he was using only to store his heavy construction equipment. For those of us who remember, this was just after the AFL- NFL merger, and the NFL rules dictated that you needed a stadium that was 55,000. Neither Harvard, Alumni, or Fenway were big enough, and the city of Boston(in the words of Kevin White) dragged their collective heals w/ re: to building a new stadium (it wasn't just the Pats, they did the same for about 25 years for a new garden, and made all sorts of promises to the Red Sox which Finneran cut). After Marr came up w/ the site, Billy Sullivan had to come up w/ $6m for the stadium which is when Schaefer Brewing came in. I think they paid almost the cost of the stadium for 10 years of naming rights. Schaefer Brewing is now owned by Miller, though I think they were bought out by someone else (Stroh's?), which was then bought by Miller. Supposedly, it is still available, but I haven't seen it in years. Not that I've looked. IIRC it was pretty awful.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schaeffer_Beer
And I do remember the outcry about the "Bay State Patriots". It was as bad a name as the Golden State Warriors, and showed just about as much class.
You are correct about the where part..but it was the beer company that financed it. Funny how that was close to a first..in naming rites histoey or close to it. The problem with Harvard was that it was only a year lease..Harvard really didn't want the Pats there....I DO believe that Harvard Stadium is quite large..more then 55K?? NOT sure. (Actually now about 33K...although at one point 57K) BC stadium was a LOT smaller than the BC stadium that has been refurnished a few times..VERY small in comparison. Yes, at that time the pols in Boston and the area actually
were som inbred they just kept wanting so much that they could never get anything done. There were a zillion plans and none could fly because of all the corruption and walls and fences made to jump over. It was truly a no-go...I am amazed to this day that the Garden finally got done....THAT was a miracle. Outside of Boston, it was so much easier. Bay State never made it, but NE did..