Patriot Place Offers Unique Venue For Sports Groups In New England
By Matt Robinson
With the recent opening of phase one of Patriot Place in Foxborough, Mass.—a new 1.3 million square-foot retail and entertainment complex adjacent to the New England Patriot’s Gillette Stadium—the Patriots organization is offering planners of sports events a unique, one-stop destination for hosting competitions and special events.
“This is a legacy project for me,” said Robert Kraft, chairman of The Kraft Group, which developed the retail and entertainment complex. “Patriot Place represents my family’s investment in the future of New England. It will be a lasting contribution to the lifestyle, culture and economy of this region.”
As the home of the National Football League’s (NFL) New England Patriots and U.S. Soccer’s New England Revolution, Gillette Stadium is already New England's premier sports and entertainment venue. In addition to hosting all Pats’ and Revs’ home games, the stadium regularly hosts regional high school super bowls, international soccer matches, major concerts, and corporate and private events. In 2008 and 2009, it will also host the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) lacrosse championships. Along with the main stadium, Dana-Farber Field House and the Fidelity Investments Clubhouse offer tens of thousands of square feet combined for the Pats and Revs home teams and other sports groups using the facility.
Though the project is new and a first-of-its-kind in the NFL or any league, according to Ted Fire, director of project administration for The Kraft Group, he said the idea behind the project is not.
“The Kraft family had always thought about what a next step might be for the property,” Fire said, “one that would be another economic driver for the area. The family put that idea on hold while we got the stadium up and running, then started looking into additional uses for the property that would make sense for both the family and the community.”
Fire said the idea was born from the Kraft’s desire to “make Foxborough a shopping, entertainment and business destination year-round.”
Phase One, which opened in November of 2007, includes Bed Bath & Beyond, Circuit City, Christmas Tree Shops, New England’s first Bass Pro Shops and a greatly enlarged Patriots Pro Shop. At completion, Patriot Place will feature more than 70 shopping, dining and entertainment venues—including a 500-seat performance space; a 14-screen National Amusements Cinema de Lux movie theater; a multi-level dining and entertainment center called CBS Scene; a satellite location of Bostonís famed Davioís Restaurant; and a four-star Renaissance Hotel.
Patriots General Manager Brian Earley said, “The goal is to provide a retail and entertainment mix not available anywhere else in New England,” adding that the complex will feature shops and restaurants familiar in other regions, as well as venues that are unique to the region.
“Some of the tenants, such as Bass Pro Shops, were targeted for their ability to draw customers from a very large radius,” Fire said. “Others, such as Davio’s, are strong local brands who saw a fit at Patriot Place.”
The Hall at Patriot Place, for example, will be an interactive, multimedia, education-minded museum of the history of the Patriots and New England football. It also will feature a 4,500-square-foot, permanent home for the team’s rapidly growing Hall of Fame, with seated function space for 250 people and a 150-seat panoramic theatre and classroom for groups. A 15,000-square-foot, three-story restaurant at The CBS Scene will feature more than 130 high-definition, flat-screen TVs and private function space with backdrops and props that can be themed around CBS shows.
In addition, parking is free at Patriot Place.
“With the only four-star hotel in the area, Patriot Place will be the largest mixed-use lifestyle center in New England”—a unique and flexible event destination for sports groups and families alike, Early said.