Foxboro Stadium

The stadium opened in August 1971 as Schaefer Stadium, primarily as the home venue for the renamed New England Patriots of the NFL. The team had been known as the Boston Patriots for its first eleven seasons and had played in various stadiums in the Boston area, including Fenway Park from 1963 to 1968, which was poorly suited as a football venue. With the completion of the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, the league required its teams to play in stadiums seating more than 50,000, and no venue in Boston proper could accommodate this. The Patriots played the 1969 season at Alumni Stadium at Boston College and the 1970 season at Harvard Stadium before moving to Foxborough. The stadium was renamed Sullivan Stadium in 1983, and then Foxboro Stadium in 1989. Robert Kraft purchased the stadium in 1988, which ultimately kept the Patriots in New England. The stadium was the site of several games in both the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, and hosted a wide variety of concerts. The stadium closed on January 19, 2002, after the Patriots won their first Super Bowl, and was demolished from late January through June 2002 to make way for Gillette Stadium and the Patriot Place shopping center.

Foxboro Stadium had three names during its history: Schaefer Stadium (1971-1983), Sullivan Stadium (1983-1989), and Foxboro Stadium (1989-2002). The stadium hosted six matches during the 1994 FIFA World Cup and was a venue for the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. The New England Tea Men of the NASL played at the stadium from 1978 to 1980. The stadium's playing surface went through several changes: Poly-Turf (1971-76), AstroTurf (1977-90), and natural grass (1991-2001). The final game played at the stadium was the Patriots' Snow Bowl playoff win against the Oakland Raiders on January 19, 2002, known for the controversial Tuck Rule.