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 With superstars such as quarterback Tom Brady and a winning percentage of .830, Gillette Stadium has been the home to one of the best teams in the NFL since its opening in 2002. The Patriots have been a part of the New England football landscape since 1960 when they played at Nickerson Field. They played at Fenway Park, Alumni Stadium and Harvard Stadium before moving into Foxboro Stadium in 1971. Foxboro Stadium could be easily associated with a college football stadium instead of a NFL stadium. While it seated just over 60,000 fans, by the 1990s it lacked many amenities that newer stadiums had. Not only did the Patriots have a substandard stadium, but by the early 1990s the Patriots finished 4th or 5th in the AFC East Conference for several seasons. Changes in ownership almost led to the Patriots moving to St. Louis after James Orthweinin bought the club in 1992. However, Robert Kraft, who owned Foxboro Stadium, purchased the Patriots in 1994.
By the mid 1990s the
building boom of new stadiums was in full swing and the Patriots
began lobby for a new stadium. Sites in South Boston, 22 miles
from Foxboro, and in Providence, RI were proposed but never
materialized. In 1998 the Patriots and the State of Connecticut
reached an agreement to build a stadium in Hartford, CT but failed
because of site issues and pressure from the NFL.
The New England Patriots played their first
game at Gillette Stadium on September 9, 2002. Gillette Stadium is
a vast improvement over Foxboro Stadium. The stadium has
68,000 seats, the majority on both sidelines. Gillette
Stadium consists of three seating decks. The lower section of
seats nearly enclose the field, while the club and upper levels of
seating are on both sides of the gridiron. All of the seats are
angled toward the 50 yard line giving fans an excellent view of
the action on the field. Gillette Stadium has 80 luxury suites
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and
over 6,000 club seats. Two massive video/scoreboards are located beyond both endzones. Gillette Stadium also has a 120,000 square foot
Patriots Club lounge that is used year-around. Bringing a New
England feel to the game is a lighthouse motif and a bridge. These
are located at the North Portal
Plaza, where many fans enter the stadium. Gillette Stadium is also the home of the New England
Revolution (MLS). Because of numerous issues with the grass field
during the 2006 season, the Patriots installed Fieldturf in
November 2006. 
