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I'm a Patriots season ticket holder of 13 years and have been to other NFL stadiums where it gets so loud you have to cover your ears. I can say unequivocally that Gillette, unfortunately, was NOT PROPERLY DESIGNED to contain crowd noise. This was a fundamental oversight by the Krafts when they built the place. Fans in the 300 level are essentially taken out of the game because they're so far from the field and separated from the second deck by two levels of luxury suites/club seating. For them it's like shouting into a void. Add the open-ended north end zone, the open-view concourses and "skylight" areas between the red club seating and the 200-level mezzanine, and you have a unique situation where noise "evaporates." Also, there is no second tier above the end zones to help hold sound in. You have a HUGE gulf between 100-level sideline seats and the 300-level sideline seats WHEN THE RED CLUB SEATS ARE NOT FILLED, which often occurs especially during cold-weather games and the second half of most games. So, most of the sound must come from the lower bowl and the mezzanine corners. I'd say that's rouughly about 60-65 percent stadium capacity. It's a pretty building designed for multiple uses and -- let's face it -- a seriously flawed football stadium. My biggest gripe is the design accommodation for soccer, which resulted in too much space between the football field and the stands.
OK, so what can be done about this? Well, with a 50,000-person waiting list, perhaps the Krafts can make a bold move and fill in some of the "gaps" by adding more seats, especially in the north end zone and the unnecessary skylight gaps. Perhaps they also can do something about motivating club seat people to actually sit in their seats and watch the freakin' game. Beyond that, I don't know what else is possible. Barring some sort of radical reconstruction option that would relocate the luxury suites, those in the 300 level will forever feel marooned in the stratosphere and separated from the rest of the action. THAT is the largest component of missing crowd noise.
From the start, I was a proponent of PSLs, which ultimately would have kept ticket prices down after the initial PSL fee outlay. This would have given PSL holders a valuable asset that appreciates over time, better than money in the bank. It also would have allowed them to re-sell their tickets anytime to anyone, and possibly would have enabled some of the more passionate fans of lesser means to attend games.
OK, so what can be done about this? Well, with a 50,000-person waiting list, perhaps the Krafts can make a bold move and fill in some of the "gaps" by adding more seats, especially in the north end zone and the unnecessary skylight gaps. Perhaps they also can do something about motivating club seat people to actually sit in their seats and watch the freakin' game. Beyond that, I don't know what else is possible. Barring some sort of radical reconstruction option that would relocate the luxury suites, those in the 300 level will forever feel marooned in the stratosphere and separated from the rest of the action. THAT is the largest component of missing crowd noise.
From the start, I was a proponent of PSLs, which ultimately would have kept ticket prices down after the initial PSL fee outlay. This would have given PSL holders a valuable asset that appreciates over time, better than money in the bank. It also would have allowed them to re-sell their tickets anytime to anyone, and possibly would have enabled some of the more passionate fans of lesser means to attend games.
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