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Out with the old Dolphins-Pats last regular-season game for outdated fieldPosted: Thursday December 20, 2001 5:49 PMUpdated: Thursday December 20, 2001 11:13 PM
FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) -- Foxboro Stadium was built for $6.7 million, less than backup quarterback Drew Bledsoe will make this season. At CMGi Stadium, where the New England Patriots will play next season (comparison below), it cost nearly four times that just for the bathrooms, a wise expense considering the overflowing toilets that greeted patrons at the old park's first game 30 years ago. "Certainly, this is a facility that could use some updating," New England head coach Bill Belichick said, smiling at that understatement. The locker rooms are small; most seats are cold, aluminum benches; and post-game traffic jams haven't eased since that first game on Aug. 15, 1971, when many motorists never arrived. The last traffic tieup could occur Saturday. That's when the Patriots (9-5) face the Miami Dolphins (9-4) with the AFC East lead at stake in the stadium's final regular-season game. Bledsoe, who gets $11.5 million this year, will watch from the sidelines as Tom Brady runs the team.
If New England wins the division or has the best record of the AFC's three wild-card teams, Foxboro Stadium would have at least one more game in the playoffs. It's the stadium where snowplow driver Mark Henderson, a convict on work release, cleared a spot for John Smith to kick the winning field goal in a 3-0 win against Miami on Dec. 12, 1982. It's the stadium where the lights went out during the AFC Championship Game against Jacksonville on Jan. 12, 1997, and where the field once froze so badly that players wore tennis shoes instead of cleats on grass. "That's something I'll always remember," cornerback Ty Law said. The new, 68,000-seat stadium, going up next to the old one, has a state-of-the-art heating system underneath the field to melt snow and ice. "It's a beautiful stadium," Law said. "It's probably going to be the best stadium in the league for the next few years." And the traffic? The major road adjacent to Foxboro Stadium, Route 1, was redesigned with pedestrian bridges and traffic ramps to allow a smoother flow. The cost of the stadium is put at $325 million, with only work on infrastructure such as roads using public financing. The Kraft family, owners of the team and both stadiums, arranged private financing. "I go to other people's stadiums and sit on cushioned seats and have towels and warm water, so I'm looking forward to that," strong safety Lawyer Milloy said. The Patriots played at Boston University, Harvard Stadium, Boston College and Fenway Park from their formation in 1960 through 1970. Team owner Billy Sullivan then chose Foxboro, about 30 miles southwest of Boston, as the new home. It began as Schaefer Stadium and became Sullivan Stadium before the current name was adopted in 1990. In 1999, rookie center Damien Woody arrived from Boston College, where he played at Alumni Stadium. "That was a much better facility. I'm not going to miss this at all," he said. "But I definitely would like to go out on a good note in this facility so you always have that good memory." Rookie tackle Matt Light had better facilities at Purdue. "It was kind of a shock when I first got here," he said, but "do you really need aesthetics? It makes it nicer, but will it make you win games? I don't know." This season the Patriots are giving their humble home a nice send-off before the wrecking ball hits. They're 5-2 there after going 5-11 overall last season. There have been other successes. The Patriots beat Cincinnati there in the last regular-season game in 1985 to launch their wild-card run to the Super Bowl. Bledsoe went 45-for-70 for 426 yards in an overtime win against Minnesota in 1994. And Bill Parcells led them to a 6-2 home record in 1996 en route to another Super Bowl. "This was home for a long time," Law said. "We probably won't shed any tears, but, at the same time, we'll miss it. "It's just like when you grew up back in your home town. If I make it, I'm moving. I'm going to get me a bigger house. I'm going to get something a little nicer, but you always remember home."
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