For any fan wondering if the traffic problems in Foxboro on gameday are as bad as it gets for any NFL city, there's finally an answer to that question.
Almost, but not quite.
An independent study by GPS company "TomTom" ranked Gillette as the 2nd worst venue due to traffic slowdowns on football game days in the NFL behind only the Washington Redskins. Coming in next was AFC East Rival Buffalo, who was actually tied with New England. The data they used was based on the percentage of traffic slowdowns on the day of those events.
According to the report as first published by USA Today, in Washington, there is a 57% reduction in speed from the normal pace in the roads around the stadium. New England and Buffalo have speed reduction rates of 55%.
One of the more recent discussions has been the fact that the NFL is trying to come up with ways to enhance the game day experience, since they're beginning to notice that many fans are losing interest in coming out to the stadium on Sunday. Considering that HDTV makes watching it at home so good to start with, along with the interest in Fantasy Football, they're trying to get creative to give fans a more complete experience when they're at the game.
The problem in Foxboro has always been the traffic, which only recently became better around 2002 when they changed the infrastructure following the opening of Gillette Stadium. The problem is it's still terrible (it took me two hours to get onto the highway after leaving following a U2 concert last year) and if you factor in the high cost of parking, it can make for a frustrating and expensive afternoon before you've even entered the gate.
Unfortunately, "it is what it is" and there are no current plans to change it down in Foxboro. As for the rest of the cities they have their own issues, but here is how the rest of them rank:
1 Washington, 57%
2 New England, 55%
2 Buffalo, 55%
4 Dallas, 41%
5 Jacksonville, 39%
6 Carolina, 37%
7 Miami, 36%
8 Tennessee, 35%
9 Green Bay, 33%
10 Atlanta, 31%
11 Philadelphia,29%
12 New Orleans, 29%
13 Houston, 27%
14 Minnesota, 27%
15 St. Louis, 27%
16 Cincinnati, 26%
17 Detroit, 24%
18 Indianapolis, 24%
19 Pittsburgh, 21%
20 New York Giants, 21%
21 Chicago, 20%
22 Denver, 20%
23 Baltimore, 17%
24 Cleveland, 14%
25 San Francisco, 13%
26 Seattle, 9%
27 New York Jets, 8%
28 San Diego, 1%
29 Oakland, -10%Note: Results from Arizona, Tampa Bay and Kansas City not included due to limited sample size.
Have you been to the games and experienced a wait down in Foxboro? Please feel free to post your thoughts in the comment area below.
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