Major Gillette renovations planned

[borg]

What's a couple thousand more cars navigating Rt 1 and the parking lots on game day.

 

[Triumph]

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.

Some cities tear it all down and build back better.

Atlanta just built a new MLB stadium and an NFL stadium at the same time. Most cities struggle to build just 1 new pro sports venue.

 

[Triumph]

They need more booster seats for short people who cant see over the railing.

 

[Patsgofor4]

A large pedestrian bridge (or two) over route 1 would improve the flow of traffic on game days and I believe that it has been discussed at some point in the past but from what I recall Kraft wanted the state to pay for it and the state felt that Kraft should cover the costs. Doesn’t seem like the best way to spend public money, given it is only relevant for larger events at the stadium. Plus the police unions wouldn’t be happy, because pedestrian bridges may reduce the need for those lucrative overtime gigs.

I wonder whether this major renovation has anything to do with “Boston’s” bid to be one of the host sites for the World Cup in 2026 (they are one of 17 US finalists for 11 sites). In addition to stadium upgrades, I would think that the bid would also likely include plans for route 1 and commuter rail upgrades, which would likely be funded by the state. Transportation will likely play a major role in the selection process and Gillette does not have a great reputation in that regard, for good reason.

 

[denverpatsfan]

A large pedestrian bridge (or two) over route 1 would improve the flow of traffic on game days and I believe that it has been discussed at some point in the past but from what I recall Kraft wanted the state to pay for it and the state felt that Kraft should cover the costs. Doesn’t seem like the best way to spend public money, given it is only relevant for larger events at the stadium. Plus the police unions wouldn’t be happy, because pedestrian bridges may reduce the need for those lucrative overtime gigs.

I wonder whether this major renovation has anything to do with “Boston’s” bid to be one of the host sites for the World Cup in 2026 (they are one of 17 US finalists for 11 sites). In addition to stadium upgrades, I would think that the bid would also likely include plans for route 1 and commuter rail upgrades, which would likely be funded by the state. Transportation will likely play a major role in the selection process and Gillette does not have a great reputation in that regard, for good reason.

This^^^^

 

[patfanken]

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.

And got every penny back from parking fees. Don't forget that.

 

[Bill Lee]

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"

Meanwhile, STL did pay for the infrastructure, but along came Stan Kroenke who conspired with the NFL to violate its own rules and move the Rams to LA. Guess we should be glad Krafty Bob wasn't rich enough back then to pull that kind of move.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Also need an easy way for the North lots to exit south on Rt1

 

[Bill Lee]

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

I wrote it "wasn't really the state of the art when it was opened", and now we see Kraft wants to rebuild the north end. Not sure this equates to being obsolete. Outdated, perhaps. Under-utilized seems to describe it better. Things indeed have changed for the Pats and for ownership over 20 years. Places like Fenway or Wrigley are odd balls. Most of the stadia that went up during the 70s are already replaced. New Yankee has been replaced by Newer Yankee, the Meadowlands has been replaced, etc. Seems most stadia only last 40-50 years before replacement.

 

[Bill Lee]

Also need an easy way for the North lots to exit south on Rt1

Lipstick on a pig.

 

[Bill Lee]

Kraft has a net worth of 8.3 billion, only about 2 billion behind Jones and Kroenke.

Yeah he's caught up, but wasn't that wealthy when he was building the stadium 20 years ago.

 

[Patriot Missile]

As long as it doesn’t look like Mount Davis it’s gonna be a great thing.

Never understood the openness. Not jist about the lack of crowd noise but the lack of money for the owner. 15,000 seats in a enclosed stadium with 2 dynasties. Those seats would of sold.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

As long as it doesn’t look like Mount Davis it’s gonna be a great thing.

Never understood the openness. Not jist about the lack of crowd noise but the lack of money for the owner. 15,000 seats in a enclosed stadium with 2 dynasties. Those seats would of sold.

Yeah, thought that was unusual too, a lot of seats could take up that area, surprised they didn't see that from the start. The pedestrian bridges would also help a lot with traffic, simple solution and I can't imagine it's that expensive to built a couple bridges.

 

[Patsgofor4]

Yeah, thought that was unusual too, a lot of seats could take up that area, surprised they didn't see that from the start. The pedestrian bridges would also help a lot with traffic, simple solution and I can't imagine it's that expensive to built a couple bridges.

You’d be surprised how much a large/wide pedestrian bridge would cost in MA, where nothing is done cheaply or on schedule. Those union construction workers aren’t cheap, or efficient. Look at how long it took to widen the stretch of highway near Needham and redo some of the overpasses….about a decade. The longer they stretch out the work, the longer they get paid.

 

[Triumph]

Yeah he's caught up, but wasn't that wealthy when he was building the stadium 20 years ago.

Kraft owned an NFL team.

I wish that I wasnt that wealthy.

 

[Triumph]

You’d be surprised how much a large/wide pedestrian bridge would cost in MA, where nothing is done cheaply or on schedule. Those union construction workers aren’t cheap, or efficient. Look at how long it took to widen the stretch of highway near Needham and redo some of the overpasses….about a decade. The longer they stretch out the work, the longer they get paid.

One day having breakfast, I struck up a conversation with a union pipefitter from Connecticut.

He told me on a government project that his boss told him to put this one piece of pipe up and take it down until he told him not to. So, thats what he did. Put the section of pipe up in the morning, have lunch, take it down in the afternoon. Knock off around 3:30.

 

[XLIX]

As long as it doesn’t look like Mount Davis it’s gonna be a great thing.

Never understood the openness. Not jist about the lack of crowd noise but the lack of money for the owner. 15,000 seats in a enclosed stadium with 2 dynasties. Those seats would of sold.

I think if we flashback to the mid-to-late 90's when this stadium was being designed, the idea that the Patriots could have consistently sold out 80,000 seats was a very foreign one. Yes the Patriots sold out every game of the Bob Kraft era, but the old stadium was only 60,000. It would have been very reasonable to suggest ===> during that time period <=== that expanding to anything over 70,000 just might have been too much.

 

[FCB02062]

when I had season tickets we occasionally went with a couple of guys who had resident passes and that was easy in and easy out with all the trappings of a regular tailgate. I know it would never happen but if there was a way that Krafty could get Foxboro and Sharon to agree to some maneuvering around North Street to either 140 and/or 95 and allow more cars to exit the back way as opposed to funneling 90% of the cars onto route 1 We could be onto something. It will never happen but it is an idea. The thing is cities and towns are absolutely loaded right now with arpa funds And they could totally use that money for public access and egress to a stadium under the guise of lessening adverse environmental impacts or something stupid like that government bureaucracy loves

But I agree that pedestrian bridges over the expanse of route 1 is the most legitimate way to improve the game day situation. I will tell you, again as a former ticket holder, that once Walpole flipped their lid about people taking the left at that McDonald's and Papa Gino's intersection, I think it is North Street, and the town blocked it off, that made route one traffic doubly worse. because you had folks like me who lived only a couple towns north of the stadium, taking that left and going 1A home. I don't know if it's still blocked off there because the last few times I've gone to a game I've either got dropped off and picked up or stayed so late that that left was open.

 

[signbabybrady]

when I had season tickets we occasionally went with a couple of guys who had resident passes and that was easy in and easy out with all the trappings of a regular tailgate. I know it would never happen but if there was a way that Krafty could get Foxboro and Sharon to agree to some maneuvering around North Street to either 140 and/or 95 and allow more cars to exit the back way as opposed to funneling 90% of the cars onto route 1 We could be onto something. It will never happen but it is an idea. The thing is cities and towns are absolutely loaded right now with arpa funds And they could totally use that money for public access and egress to a stadium under the guise of lessening adverse environmental impacts or something stupid like that government bureaucracy loves

But I agree that pedestrian bridges over the expanse of route 1 is the most legitimate way to improve the game day situation. I will tell you, again as a former ticket holder, that once Walpole flipped their lid about people taking the left at that McDonald's and Papa Gino's intersection, I think it is North Street, and the town blocked it off, that made route one traffic doubly worse. because you had folks like me who lived only a couple towns north of the stadium, taking that left and going 1A home. I don't know if it's still blocked off there because the last few times I've gone to a game I've either got dropped off and picked up or stayed so late that that left was open.

We have residents passes my brother is right behind the stadium. You keep your plans off my access road please and thank you.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

One day having breakfast, I struck up a conversation with a union pipefitter from Connecticut.

He told me on a government project that his boss told him to put this one piece of pipe up and take it down until he told him not to. So, thats what he did. Put the section of pipe up in the morning, have lunch, take it down in the afternoon. Knock off around 3:30.

One college summer year I worked for the state. We were told to go hide in the woods all day. Played cards. Boring. Was so glad end of summer when an opportunity to actually do something came up. We installed a curb and did several days of actual work.
Sharp contrast to summer when I worked as an unskilled laborer for construction companies. Busted tail.