Description: During the end of the 1990s, The New England Patriots played in Foxboro Stadium while always keeping their eyes on something better. Foxboro was an uncomfortable dump, with most of the seating on metal benches with no backs. A number of plans were discussed, from building a new stadium in Foxboro to a stadium in South Boston, to moving the team down to Hartford, Connecticut. In the end, it was the former plan that won out.
When Gillette opened in May, 2002, it was called CMGI Field. CMGI went under and it became Gillette Stadium. The first two events in Gillette were soccer games, including a double-header with the U.S. facing the Dutch Men’s National Team. I was at both of these events.
You can tell this isn't the old Foxboro immediately. As you approached that stadium from Boston, you saw the seating sections and a two-story warehouse-looking structure that served as club seating and offices. One of the first things you see as you approach Gillette is "The Lighthouse," a metal skeletal representation of the traditional lighthouses that are famous along the New England coastline. Supposedly the lighthouse shoots a beam into the sky. The exteriors of the sidelines show off the large glass promenades with Patriot scenes visible on the inside wall.
On the inside, Gillette Stadium is just as attractive. Situated below the Lighthouse you see the lower walkway is an arched bridge and by field level, there are sculpted rocks, again made to look like a New England coastal scene.
For watching an actual sporting event, this place is much better. The benches are a thing of the past. Where old Foxboro had minimal scoreboard and information facilities, Gillette has two large information/video boards; one in each end zone. They also have on the lip of the first tier an information strip which rolls scores, calls for cheers, and advertisements.
The facilities and walkways are better here too. There used to be one concourse with stairs leading up and down to the seating areas. Now the various levels have their own, wide walkways (although for these first soccer games, the upper levels were still closed off).
Where Foxboro housed few permanent vending facilities, the new stadium has counters all over the place. The cuisine styles are numerous, from local cuisine (i.e. seafood) to pizza to McDonalds. In the past, the Patriots/Revolution "Pro Shop" was its own seperate building that was inaccessable if you were in the stadium watching the game. Now it's built into the stadium itself, in the same corner as the Lighthouse, and is easy to visit during halftime. There are other merchandise counters throughout the park as well.
It may be coincidence that the new park opened around the same time the Revs and Pats made it to their respective championship games. Now that both teams are competitive though, it is nice to be able to watch the two teams in a state-of-the-art new facility.
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