Patriots unveil images of new field-level lounge at Gillette Stadium
- Thread starter soxhop411
- Start date
Krafts just trying to figure out to get people to come to Gillette in the cold after BB and TB are gone.
Wait, so you buy access to that and to your actual seats? Doesn't that decrease the overall capacity of the stadium and guarantees empty seats? Douchebags sipping strawberitas in flip flops, nantucket red pants, and aviator glasses is going to make a great backdrop for extra points on that end of the field...
doesn't the putnam club already accomplish this? though someone's going to chime in to tell me that this is priced slightly lower and therefore more accessible or something.
also, doesn't this decrease overall capacity? (edit: looks like others are asking this too).
also, doesn't this decrease overall capacity? (edit: looks like others are asking this too).
Yup. Plus it also increases sold seats that are empty (the aforementioned vineyard vine wearing prep-sters will be in the lounge instead of their paid for section 108 or whatever seats). Club view already looks horrible and noise is faint, especially in DecemberPseuFighter said:
You may very well have something here. I still suspect the waitlist drops to 0 with back to back losing seasons post-BB/TB.Dan to Theo to Ben said:
I don't really have a problem with this so much as the light house, bridge, open portion of the North end zone remaining. If you want to complain about noise at Gillette start there. I don't think the Bob Kraft Singles Lounge will have much of an effect on the noise.
The biggest question is why Stevan Ridley is the only Patriot visible in the ground-level shot? Maybe that's why Jonas Gray isn't getting carries...
alydar said:
This is the weird thing. I'm shocked they're not making this another ticketed section. It's going to be full of corporate douches anyways, you might as well just sell them to them as separate tickets and keep capacity up. I guarantee my company would buy 1-2 games a year for 30 customers if it was an option for $500 a ticket.
I do feel bad for the fans down there though. They're some good fans and many have been there for years. To the 3rd deck with you!
It's nice they give the people's seats they're removing, moving them somewhere else but offering them first chance to pay $3,000 a season to stand where their seats used to be. Very generous.
I was one of the folks whose seats were destroyed by the new club. My friends father originally bought two separate sets of 2 seats going back to Harvard Stadium. I bought a pair from him about 20 years ago, and have been buying them every season since, so they are effectively my seats (my buddy's father has since passed, so the tickets are now in my friend's name as they can't be transferred to non-family). Over the course of many, many years, my seats were upgraded many times, until they were finally located in the third row of section 123, which was basically in the corner of the end zone. They were also seats 1 and 2, which gave me an aisle seat, something I cherish.
When the plans were released, I got an email with the offer outlined in the letter (option to get lounge membership, etc.) and a list of "comparable" seats that I could choose from, or seats in better sections that I could upgrade to. I ended up choosing to stay in the same price point, and ended up two sections over in 125, row 6, seats 1 and 2. I wish I had done a bit more homework, because I didn't realize that in that section, seats 1 and 2 are in the middle of the row, and not on the aisle, which fucking blows, but all in all, I can't say that they didn't provide me options to get seats that were as good or better. There were tons of options. I was also given a parking pass for every game this season (a value of about $500) at no cost.
This club will have absolutely zero affect on noise. As someone else said, the lack of noise in the stadium has much more to do with the fact that the other end of the stadium is open than anything else, and this won't affect that at all. I also very much disagree with the contention that it's as quiet as television would suggest. The stadium is plenty loud when you are there, and not significantly quieter than any other dozen or so outdoor stadiums I've been to over the years. For some reason, it just doesn't sound that way on television, which I believe has more to do with the fact that the Patriots don't pipe in the noise that a lot of other stadiums do. When you hear crazy noise from a game on tv, next time, take a look at the crowd and see if folks are really on their feet yelling and screaming. I think you'll see that a lot of times, that's not the case. It's artificial. The Bruins and Celtics are both very, very guilty of this. Something else that people always seem to forget is that the Patriots play a significant number of their home games in cold weather. Sometimes very cold. What do people wear when it's cold? Gloves. What happens when you clap with gloves on? Nothing. Think about it for a minute. It's noticeable and has a real effect on the noise during cold weather games.
I disagree that this club will be infested with your typical corporate elite. That shit is already reserved for the club level and luxury boxes. The folks I know pulling the trigger on this are real Pats fans, season ticket holders that attend lots of games and who wouldn't be caught dead wearing red pants or drinking an appletini. The price point isn't that high to discourage the common folk. The reason I declined was because I just don't know how it would work. How many season ticket holders are they going to offer it to, and when are they going to cut if off? There's what, 50k season ticket holders? Obviously, they can't allow even 10% of them access to the club at any one time, and if they are looking to rake it in (which I seriously doubt, more on that in a second), the place will end being a mob scene. I also really like my seats (although not as much as my old ones), but if I were a season ticket holder up in the nose bleeds, you can bet your ass I'd be pulling the trigger on this. Shit, you'd basically be getting front row seats for about the same price as the actual front row seats, when you combine your ticket price with the cost of the membership.
Finally, anyone who think Kraft and Co. are doing something like this because of monetary reasons is just plain out to lunch. The Pats have been in Gilette for going on 14 years now, and they have raised the prices on our seats, I believe, one time. Once. This past season, they went to a flexible pricing model where each game has a different price based on the "importance" of the game (for example, the Denver tickets had a face value that was higher than the Buffalo tickets), with three different levels. It significantly reduced the cost of the preseason tickets that most of us end up eating anyway. The Patriots are the only team in the NFL without personal seat licenses, which is fucking awesome. If Kraft wanted to rape and pillage New England fans, he could do it very, very easily, and he doesn't. I know I'd pay much, much more than what I do now for my tickets ($1390/year per ticket) and I don't know anyone that wouldn't. Kraft is making his money elsewhere (see Patriot place, the parking lots, etc.) and I have no issue with that, but to think he's going after the "common folk" is just plain misguided. If anything, he takes care of us to the detriment of the flip flop wearing assholes, which is why you see so few of them by comparison to most other stadiums and sports, particularly down there on beloved Yawkey Way.
When the plans were released, I got an email with the offer outlined in the letter (option to get lounge membership, etc.) and a list of "comparable" seats that I could choose from, or seats in better sections that I could upgrade to. I ended up choosing to stay in the same price point, and ended up two sections over in 125, row 6, seats 1 and 2. I wish I had done a bit more homework, because I didn't realize that in that section, seats 1 and 2 are in the middle of the row, and not on the aisle, which fucking blows, but all in all, I can't say that they didn't provide me options to get seats that were as good or better. There were tons of options. I was also given a parking pass for every game this season (a value of about $500) at no cost.
This club will have absolutely zero affect on noise. As someone else said, the lack of noise in the stadium has much more to do with the fact that the other end of the stadium is open than anything else, and this won't affect that at all. I also very much disagree with the contention that it's as quiet as television would suggest. The stadium is plenty loud when you are there, and not significantly quieter than any other dozen or so outdoor stadiums I've been to over the years. For some reason, it just doesn't sound that way on television, which I believe has more to do with the fact that the Patriots don't pipe in the noise that a lot of other stadiums do. When you hear crazy noise from a game on tv, next time, take a look at the crowd and see if folks are really on their feet yelling and screaming. I think you'll see that a lot of times, that's not the case. It's artificial. The Bruins and Celtics are both very, very guilty of this. Something else that people always seem to forget is that the Patriots play a significant number of their home games in cold weather. Sometimes very cold. What do people wear when it's cold? Gloves. What happens when you clap with gloves on? Nothing. Think about it for a minute. It's noticeable and has a real effect on the noise during cold weather games.
I disagree that this club will be infested with your typical corporate elite. That shit is already reserved for the club level and luxury boxes. The folks I know pulling the trigger on this are real Pats fans, season ticket holders that attend lots of games and who wouldn't be caught dead wearing red pants or drinking an appletini. The price point isn't that high to discourage the common folk. The reason I declined was because I just don't know how it would work. How many season ticket holders are they going to offer it to, and when are they going to cut if off? There's what, 50k season ticket holders? Obviously, they can't allow even 10% of them access to the club at any one time, and if they are looking to rake it in (which I seriously doubt, more on that in a second), the place will end being a mob scene. I also really like my seats (although not as much as my old ones), but if I were a season ticket holder up in the nose bleeds, you can bet your ass I'd be pulling the trigger on this. Shit, you'd basically be getting front row seats for about the same price as the actual front row seats, when you combine your ticket price with the cost of the membership.
Finally, anyone who think Kraft and Co. are doing something like this because of monetary reasons is just plain out to lunch. The Pats have been in Gilette for going on 14 years now, and they have raised the prices on our seats, I believe, one time. Once. This past season, they went to a flexible pricing model where each game has a different price based on the "importance" of the game (for example, the Denver tickets had a face value that was higher than the Buffalo tickets), with three different levels. It significantly reduced the cost of the preseason tickets that most of us end up eating anyway. The Patriots are the only team in the NFL without personal seat licenses, which is fucking awesome. If Kraft wanted to rape and pillage New England fans, he could do it very, very easily, and he doesn't. I know I'd pay much, much more than what I do now for my tickets ($1390/year per ticket) and I don't know anyone that wouldn't. Kraft is making his money elsewhere (see Patriot place, the parking lots, etc.) and I have no issue with that, but to think he's going after the "common folk" is just plain misguided. If anything, he takes care of us to the detriment of the flip flop wearing assholes, which is why you see so few of them by comparison to most other stadiums and sports, particularly down there on beloved Yawkey Way.
Great post, very thoughtful. I love the idea of people moving their seats to the way back of the cheap seats (where I am) to cover the cost of joining this thing, would give me a chance to move up! And your point is very well-taken -- I've only been a STH for 2 years now, but I don't get the sense that the Krafts are trying to squeeze every last drop out of me, especially when compared to other NFL teams.
Maybe I just haven't read fully, but is it clear if membership to this club is transferable if you sell your tickets to someone else? Or is it that YOUR NAME is on the list to get in, and if I sell my tickets to someone else through Patriots TicketExchange they do NOT have access? If the latter, then making this worth the $ is heavily contingent on actually attending most / all games. You are not buying an exchangeable ticket, you are buying non-transferable personal access. This would be of little use to the corporate-types who are interested in hosting a rotating cast of clients, but could be very beneficial to the fans that go regularly.
Edit: and to add to that, it seems you can purchase more memberships than you could possibly have tickets (I think tickets is capped at 4, but you can buy up to 10 memberships). Do all the people you bring into lounge also need to have a ticket, or can you bring people directly to this lounge even if they don't hold a gameday ticket?
Edit Part II: they thought of all this and cleverly put it on an easily-accessible Frequently Asked Questions page!
If I am a Season Ticket Member with four (4) season tickets and I buy two (2) Memberships to the Optum Field Lounge, can I bring my two other guests using my season tickets during a game into the facility?
No. If you have four (4) season tickets and buy two (2) Optum Field Lounge memberships, only two (2) individuals in your party will have access to the Optum Field Lounge. Field lounge passes are not transferrable in-game.
If I join the Optum Field Lounge and give my game tickets to a client or friend, will I still be able to enter the stadium and access the Optum Field Lounge for a Patriots game?
No. You will need your game ticket to enter the stadium AND your Optum Field Lounge pass to enter the facility. You will be required to keep both items with you at all times during a game if you choose to go back and forth from your seat to the Optum Field Lounge throughout the game.
If I share my season tickets with a group, can I share my Optum Field Lounge membership as well?
Season Ticket Members are welcome to share their Optum Field Lounge passes with family or friends from game to game throughout the season. However, Optum Field Lounge passes cannot be passed among group members for shared access during a single game. Each Optum Field Lounge pass is valid for use by one (1) individual only on game day.
Maybe I just haven't read fully, but is it clear if membership to this club is transferable if you sell your tickets to someone else? Or is it that YOUR NAME is on the list to get in, and if I sell my tickets to someone else through Patriots TicketExchange they do NOT have access? If the latter, then making this worth the $ is heavily contingent on actually attending most / all games. You are not buying an exchangeable ticket, you are buying non-transferable personal access. This would be of little use to the corporate-types who are interested in hosting a rotating cast of clients, but could be very beneficial to the fans that go regularly.
Edit: and to add to that, it seems you can purchase more memberships than you could possibly have tickets (I think tickets is capped at 4, but you can buy up to 10 memberships). Do all the people you bring into lounge also need to have a ticket, or can you bring people directly to this lounge even if they don't hold a gameday ticket?
Edit Part II: they thought of all this and cleverly put it on an easily-accessible Frequently Asked Questions page!
If I am a Season Ticket Member with four (4) season tickets and I buy two (2) Memberships to the Optum Field Lounge, can I bring my two other guests using my season tickets during a game into the facility?
No. If you have four (4) season tickets and buy two (2) Optum Field Lounge memberships, only two (2) individuals in your party will have access to the Optum Field Lounge. Field lounge passes are not transferrable in-game.
If I join the Optum Field Lounge and give my game tickets to a client or friend, will I still be able to enter the stadium and access the Optum Field Lounge for a Patriots game?
No. You will need your game ticket to enter the stadium AND your Optum Field Lounge pass to enter the facility. You will be required to keep both items with you at all times during a game if you choose to go back and forth from your seat to the Optum Field Lounge throughout the game.
If I share my season tickets with a group, can I share my Optum Field Lounge membership as well?
Season Ticket Members are welcome to share their Optum Field Lounge passes with family or friends from game to game throughout the season. However, Optum Field Lounge passes cannot be passed among group members for shared access during a single game. Each Optum Field Lounge pass is valid for use by one (1) individual only on game day.
Looks like more renovations this offseason. My brother just got notified his seats (Lower section of 313) is being turned into a handicap section. Not sure how many other seats are going to be affected. Good news it does say that the replacement tickets will be "as good or better"
Hard to believe the stadium is going into its 16th year. Makes sense that they are constantly renovating.
As someone deep down the wait list, I wish they were figuring out ways to add seats, not take them away.... :|
