New England Patriots Stadium

So, where do you go if you want to see professional football in Massachusetts? That would be to the New England Patriots stadium, known as Gillette Stadium. Nicknamed "The Razor" by some local fans, this NFL and Major League Soccer venue opened on September 9, 2002. It was built by architect John Bolles as was originally to be named CMGI Field before the stadium owners sold naming rights to the famous shaving razor manufacturer and distributor. Located at One Patriot Place in the city of Foxboro, Gillette Stadium cost more than $300 million to build and can hold nearly 69,000 fans at maximum capacity. The playing field is a grass surface -- no artificial turf here, folks -- and since the Patriots moved to the new facility, they have enjoyed a tremendous amount of on the field success, including a pair of Super Bowl championships.

Former New England Patriots Stadium Locations

There have been a total of six different Boston and/or New England Patriots Stadium locations used by the team since their inception in 1960. Four of them -- Nickerson Field, Fenway Park, Alumni Stadium and Harvard Stadium -- were short-term stops used during the first decade or so of the team's existence. Nickerson Field was the Patriots' first home and lasted from 1960 to 1962, then the team moved to Fenway, home of the Boston Red Sox, from 1963 until 1968. In 1969 they played at Alumni Stadium and in 1970 they tried out Harvard Stadium for a season. Ultimately, though, the Patriots wanted their own facility, and in 1971, they got it with the opening of Foxboro Stadium, their home until Gillette Stadium opened in 2002. In retrospect, Foxboro Stadium lacked many of the luxuries today's football fans are used to, including actual chair-style seating, and when it switched to natural grass in the 1990s, the field often times would not drain properly. Still, though, it was a serviceable home field for many years and many excellent New England Patriots football games.