Gillette Stadium Gillette Stadium is a multi - purpose stadium located in Foxborough , Massachusetts , 21 miles ( 34 kilometers ) southwest of downtown Boston and from downtown Providence , Rhode Island . It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for both the NFL ' s New England Patriots football franchise and the MLS ' New England Revolution soccer team . In 2012 , it will also become the home stadium for the football program of the University of Massachusetts ( UMass ) , making it the largest football stadium in the Mid - American Conference . The facility opened in 2002 , replacing the old Foxboro Stadium . The seating capacity is 68 , 756 , including 6 , 000 club seats and 87 luxury suites . The stadium is owned and operated by Kraft Sports Group , a subsidiary of The Kraft Group , the company through which businessman Robert Kraft owns the Patriots and Revolution . The stadium was originally known as CMGI Field before the naming rights were bought by Gillette after the " dot - com " bust . Although Gillette has since been acquired by Procter & Gamble , the stadium retains the Gillette name because P & G has continued to use the Gillette brand name and because the Gillette company was founded in the Boston area . Gillette and the Patriots jointly announced in September 2010 that their partnership , which includes naming rights to the stadium , will extend through the 2031 season . Additionally , uBid ( until April 2003 a wholly owned subsidiary of CMGI ) as of 2009 continues to sponsor one of the main entrance gates to the stadium . The Town of Foxborough approved plans for the stadium ' s construction on December 6 , 1999 , and work on the stadium began on March 24 , 2000 . The first official event was a New England Revolution soccer game on May 11 , 2002 . The Rolling Stones also played at Gillette Stadium on September 5 , 2002 on the band ' s Licks Tour . Grand opening ceremonies were held four days later on September 9 when the Patriots unveiled their Super Bowl XXXVI championship banner before a Monday Night Football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers . Gillette Stadium is accessible by rail via the Providence / Stoughton and Franklin lines at the Foxboro MBTA station , but only when an event ( non - soccer ) takes place at the stadium . The Patriots have a 70 – 13 record in Gillette Stadium . History . Foxboro Stadium . From the 1971 NFL season until the 2001 NFL season , the Patriots played all of their home games at Foxboro Stadium . The stadium was privately funded on an extremely small budget and featured few amenities . Its aluminum benches would freeze over during games with cold weather and it had an unorganized dirt parking lot . Foxboro Stadium did not prove to bring in the profit that was needed to keep an NFL team in New England , as it was one of the smallest stadiums in the NFL , with just over 60 , 000 seats . The team had fallen into debt after team executive Chuck Sullivan funded the Jackson Victory Tour , in an attempt earn more profit for the team . Tickets sales failed , however , and the team ' s debt increased even further – to a final total of $ 126 million ( USD ) . After two unsuccessful owners bought the team and stadium , it was clear that a new stadium had to be built for the team to stay in New England . This is when other cities in the New England area , including Boston , Hartford and Providence became interested in building new stadiums to lure the Patriots away from Foxboro . Location discussions . The first major stadium proposal from another city came in September 1993 . Lowell Weicker , the Governor of Connecticut , proposed to the Connecticut General Assembly that a new stadium should be built in Hartford to attract the Patriots to move there , stating that a stadium had " potentially great benefit " if it were built . The bill passed in the State Assembly on September 27 , 1993 . In Massachusetts , there was a proposal to build a " Megaplex " in Boston , which would be the site of the stadium , as well as a new Fenway Park ( the home park of the Boston Red Sox ) and a much needed convention center . The proposed sites for this hybrid convention center - stadium were along Summer Street in South Boston or at the so - called Crosstown site along Melnea Cass Boulevard in Roxbury , adjacent to Boston ' s South End . Ultimately , the administration of Massachusetts Governor William Weld pushed for construction of a full " Megaplex " at the crosstown site , with Boston Mayor Thomas Menino favoring construction of a new , stand - alone convention center in South Boston . Ultimately , the residents of neither of these neighborhoods wanted a stadium , thus Menino backed out fearing it would affect his chance at re - election . The Fenway Park plan was cancelled after many " Save Fenway Park ! " groups popped up to save the historic ballpark . Kraft then began a plan to build a new stadium in South Boston . In that plan , Kraft was to pay for the stadium himself , hoping to win the support of Weld and Menino . He began to sketch designs , but the project was leaked to the press in December 1996 . The residents of South Boston objected to a stadium being built in that location , causing Menino and Weld to become angry at Kraft . Kraft abandoned all plans for a Boston Stadium after the affair . In January 1997 , Kraft began talks with Providence mayor Vincent Cianci to relocate the team to Providence and build a new stadium there . The proposed 68 , 000 seat domed stadium would have cost $ 250 million , and would have been paid through income taxes , public bonds , surcharges on tickets , and private funds . However , citizens in the proposed neighborhood were highly opposed to the project because the surrounding area would have needed massive infrastructure improvements . The proposal fell through after a few weeks . During a news conference in September 1998 , the team revealed plans to build a new stadium in Foxboro , keeping the team in Massachusetts . It was to be funded by the state as well as Kraft himself . This plan brought more competition from Connecticut , as a $ 1 billion plan to renovate an area of Hartford , including building a stadium . Kraft then signed an agreement to move the team to Hartford on November 18 , 1998 . The proposed stadium included 68 , 000 seats , 60 luxury box es , and had a projected cost of $ 375 million . As before in Boston and Providence , construction of the stadium was challenged by the residents . Problems with the site were discovered , and an agreement could not be reached regarding the details of the stadium . The entire plan eventually fell through , enraging then Connecticut governor John G . Rowland , who lobbied hard for the stadium and spent weeks deliberating with Robert Kraft . Rowland announced at a press conference that he was officially " a New York Jets fan , now and probably forever " . In 1999 , the team officially announced that it would remain in Foxboro , which led to Gillette Stadium ' s construction . Robert Kraft paid for 100 % of the construction costs , a rare instance of an NFL owner privately financing the construction of a stadium . Design . On April 18 , 2000 , the team revealed plans for the new stadium in Foxboro . It was announced as a 68 , 000 seat stadium at a cost of $ 325 million , with the entire cost privately funded . Concurrently announced was a new road to access the stadium from U . S . Route 1 , and an additional 3 , 000 parking spaces to accommodate the increased number of fans . The stadium was designed by HOK Sports . Kraft wanted it modeled on M & T Bank Stadium which had opened in Baltimore , Maryland in 1998 . Kraft insisted on it having a " front door " with a Disneyland - like entrance . HOK went through 200 designs before coming up with one that Kraft liked . The entrance includes a lighthouse ( which was originally designed to shoot a light high ) and a bridge modeled on Boston ' s Longfellow Bridge . The lighthouse and bridge are now featured on the stadium ' s logo . For the first eight years of its existence the stadium used a videoboard , with a smaller LED scoreboard just beneath it , at each end of the field . The south side also had a large LED scoreboard in addition to the smaller one . In 2010 , the stadium installed two new high definition videoboards to replace the entire previous setup at both ends . At the time of their construction , the larger screen , at 41 . 5 feet tall and 164 feet wide ( 12 . 6 m x 50 . 0 m ) , was the second - largest video monitor in any NFL stadium ; only Cowboys Stadium had a larger one . Gillette Stadium ranks first among all NFL venues in stadium food safety with a 0 % critical violations . The Gillette Stadium food service , instead of being outsourced like most NFL teams , is run in - house and is led by the Patriots executive director of foods and beverage David Wheeler . Notable games . The venue has hosted the NFL ' s nationally – televised primetime season – opening games in 2004 and 2005 ( when the Patriots unveiled their championship banners from Super Bowl XXXVIII and XXXIX ) . The stadium also played host to the 2003 AFC Championship Game , in which the Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts 24 – 14 . Eight days earlier the Patriots hosted the coldest game ( 4 degrees , −12 wind chill ) in New England Patriots history in the AFC Divisional Playoff game when the Patriots defeated the Tennessee Titans by the score of 17 – 14 . Gillette Stadium also hosted the 2007 AFC Championship Game , with the Patriots defeating the San Diego Chargers , 21 – 12 . On January 10 , 2010 , the Baltimore Ravens beat the Patriots 33 – 14 here giving the Patriots their first home loss in the playoffs in Gillette Stadium . The Patriots suffered their second home playoff loss on January 16 , 2011 in a 28 – 21 New York Jets victory . In all , the Pats are 7 – 2 at Gillette Stadium in the playoffs . Additionally , the venue hosted 2002 MLS Cup and four games of the 2003 FIFA Women ' s World Cup . Gillette Stadium also hosted the NCAA Men ' s Lacrosse Championship s in 2008 and 2009 . In 2012 and 2013 it will again play host to the NCAA Men ' s Lacrosse Championship . Playing surface . On November 14 , 2006 , two days after a rainstorm contributed to the deterioration of the grass surface in a Patriots loss against the New York Jets , team management decided to replace the natural grass surface with a synthetic surface , FieldTurf . The Patriots ' first game on the surface was a victory over the previously 9 – 1 Chicago Bears on November 26 . At the conclusion of the 2007 season , Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had a career record of 31 – 3 on artificial turf . The team lost a preseason matchup in August 2007 to the Tennessee Titans on the new FieldTurf but otherwise won its first eleven regular - season and playoff games on the surface covering the period of November 2006 until September 2008 , when the Patriots lost to the Miami Dolphins . In February 2010 , the surface was pulled and upgraded to FieldTurf " Duraspine Pro , " which was expected to meet FIFA standards that the previous turf did not , preventing the team from having to place sod on top of their turf to host international soccer matches . Field logo . When the field is configured for American football , the Patriots have their " Flying Elvis " logo painted on the field at dead center of the 50 - yard line . Off to both sides along the 50 - yard line , the Gillette Stadium logo is also painted on the field . This is a gray - and - yellow stylized representation of the bridge and tower at the north entrance of the stadium . Patriot Place . In early 2006 , the Patriots and Kraft announced plans to build a " super regional lifestyle and entertainment center " in the area around Gillette Stadium named Patriot Place . The cost of the project was $ 350 million , more than the cost to build Gillette Stadium itself ; Kraft had purchased much of the surrounding land , about , when he bought Foxboro Stadium in the late 1980s . The first phase of the project opened in late 2007 , and featured the first Bass Pro Shops in New England , as well as Circuit City ( now closed ) , Bed Bath & Beyond , Five Guys Burgers , Christmas Tree Shops , and Staples . In December 2007 , the Patriots and CBS announced plans to build a themed restaurant and nightclub , named " CBS Scene , " at the site , which would also include studios for CBS - owned WBZ - TV . The restaurant was part of the second phase of the project , which included an open mall , a health center , a Cinema de Lux movie theater , a four - star Renaissance hotel , and " The Hall at Patriot Place . " Attached to Gillette Stadium , the Hall includes a two - level interactive museum honoring the Patriots accomplishments and Super Bowl championships , plus the Patriots Pro Shop . The first restaurants and stores in phase two began opening in July 2008 , and were followed by the openings of the Hall at Patriot Place and the CBS Scene in time for the beginning of the 2008 New England Patriots season . More locations , including the health center and hotel , opened in 2009 , along with additional sites in phase one .