Major Gillette renovations planned

[Patsgofor4]

Just heard on Patriots Unfiltered podcast (Fred Kirsch) that major Gillette renovations at North end (open end with lighthouse) will start this off-season. Will take up to two years to fully complete and will cause disruptions (fewer entree
and exit options). That end will be closed in.....they must have finally listened to me because I have been complaining for years about the loss of crowd noise because of the open end. The bridge will remain.

Fred didn't say whether the Pats would be adding more seats or more clubs/dining, or both. Knowing Kraft, they will be adding whatever makes him more money, even if it does not add to home field advantage/crowd noise.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Hard to believe that place is almost 20 years old.

Reconfiguring the north end will be interesting. Will the get rid of the lighthouse? Does seem if they close that area off they'll be able to add ~15k seats?

If he can make more money all the power to him.

 

[jah]

If we get better crowd acoustics, I'm all for it.

 

[203Pat]

If it add seats to bump me up on the wait list I'm all for it.

 

[Pape]

north end of gillette is a great concourse area but it is a tremendous waste of space... it will be interesting to see what they do with the area

 

[Bill Lee]

I'm looking forward to see the new design.

Most people were unhappy initially with the south end redesign.

Seems the lighthouse is an impediment to using the north end space.

Maybe they'll just relocate it outside the bowl and say all's good.

 

[Bill Lee]

If he can make more money all the power to him.

I agree.

You gotta spend money to make money.

People in the trades will be happy for the paychecks.

 

[TheRainMaker]

I thought we were getting a better razor.

 

[VectorPrime]

Amazing how fast things change because this stadium when it opened in 2002 was state of the art but is now behind at least 15 larger and crazier feats of stadium design.

Also nowadays a capacity of 67k just doesn’t cut it. You want 80k at least.

 

[Bill Lee]

I'll add that this isn't like adding wildcard games or 17th/18th game to the schedule just to pad the pockets.

He's going to have to spend real money to make this happen.

Sure, he'll get it back over time, but presumably because people like the new amenities and additional seats.

Amazing how fast things change because this stadium when it opened in 2002 was state of the art but is now behind at least 15 larger and crazier feats of stadium design.

I remember reading at the time it was built that it was a good not great stadium.

You can still see some evidence of this, one example is the number of seams in the glass of the luxury suites shown in my photo above.

Larger panes of glass were available but they and the structure to support them cost more.

Bob was spending his own money and he ain't as rich as Jones or Kroenke, so that's what you get.

 

[jah]

I'll add that this isn't like adding wildcard games or 17th/18th game to the schedule just to pad the pockets.

He's going to have to spend real money to make this happen.

Sure, he'll get it back over time, but presumably because people like the new amenities and additional seats.



I remember reading at the time it was built that it was a good not great stadium.

You can still see some evidence of this, one example is the number of seams in the glass of the luxury suites shown in my photo above.

Larger panes of glass were available but they and the structure to support them cost more.

Bob was spending his own money and he ain't as rich as Jones or Kroenke, so that's what you get.

I do appreciate that the Patriots seem to have spent less taxpayer money on their stadium than most other teams.

 

[p8ryts]

I'll add that this isn't like adding wildcard games or 17th/18th game to the schedule just to pad the pockets.

He's going to have to spend real money to make this happen.

Sure, he'll get it back over time, but presumably because people like the new amenities and additional seats.



I remember reading at the time it was built that it was a good not great stadium.

You can still see some evidence of this, one example is the number of seams in the glass of the luxury suites shown in my photo above.

Larger panes of glass were available but they and the structure to support them cost more.

Bob was spending his own money and he ain't as rich as Jones or Kroenke, so that's what you get.

a stadium is a stadium, concrete and steel. yes some have more fancy amenities than others but I'm afraid I don't qualify for that area of the facility. Give me an almost comfortable seat and a good site line and I'm happy.

 

[Bill Lee]

a stadium is a stadium, concrete and steel. yes some have more fancy amenities than others but I'm afraid I don't qualify for that area of the facility. Give me an almost comfortable seat and a good site line and I'm happy.

I agree. I just was pointing out it wasn't really the state of the art when it was opened. Maybe the south end wasn't finished out because they didn't want to spend the money back then? Now that the Krafts have a lot more money and a lot more fans willing to buy tickets, they can do this kind of incremental upgrade.

 

[Ian]

Bob was spending his own money and he ain't as rich as Jones or Kroenke, so that's what you get.

He definitely wasn't at the time. After all, they starting building that stadium before they even won their first Super Bowl, so all of it was a risk. Obviously, his financial situation is quite different after all of that success, and I sort of wondered when a major upgrade like this might be coming. Definitely curious to see what - if any - renderings they reveal before they get started.

 

[denverpatsfan]

Not a fan of this stadium but I liked that open concourse. Now it's gone. Every other stadium I've been to is better. Acoustics, bathrooms, quirks, concessions, turf, access etc.

The state was not going to pay for a new stadium so Krafty Bob had to pony up himself. Kuddos to him. Still the state spent millions to improve the infrastructure around the stadium. Don't forget that.

 

[borg]

With increased seating and subsequent additional ticket sales, franchise value will go up far more than the construction costs

 

[mgcolby]

God forbid a businessman invests in his business with the goal of recouping his money and *gasp* more on top of that. Some of you people need to grow up and stop being jealous of other people's success.

 

[mgcolby]

I hope they keep the lighthouse. I agree closing the end will help with crowd noise. But it won't matter when the home crowd is sitting on their ass and not making noise. For a while there the home crowd was complacent. Folks there can get loud when they want to and its noticable. And if this helps keep it in I am all for it. It will be weird not having the opening.

Also strange that today we consider a 20 year old stadium obsolete or outdated.

 

[Patsgofor4]

God forbid a businessman invests in his business with the goal of recouping his money and *gasp* more on top of that. Some of you people need to grow up and stop being jealous of other people's success.

I have zero problem with Kraft making money from any of his ventures or eventually turning a profit from this renovation (which he undoubtedly will). The guy took a huge risk when he bought the team and deserves everything he accumulated since that time.

There is a way to turn a profit on a major project like this, however, while simultaneously increasing your team’s home field advantage and chances of success….by prioritizing acoustics and capacity, in order to optimize crowd noise, rather than prioritizing fan amenities, such as adding more places for the fatties and functional alcoholics to hang out and feed their addictions while not focusing on the game.

That end zone bar/club is an abomination and makes me skeptical about Kraft’s motivations for this larger project. I hope that he proves me wrong.

 

[FCB02062]

lest we forget Krafty Bob tried every trick in the book to fleece the taxpayers to pay for his stadium. Can't believe I'm saying this, but thank God for Tom Finneran....
Bad enough we had to pay for the "infrastructure"