Foxboro Stadium

Former home of the New England Patriots

Foxborough, MA

Still to visit

Teams

New England Patriots
NFL · football
1971–2001

Also known as Schaefer Stadium · Sullivan Stadium

Stadium facts

Capacity: 60,292; Source for capacity
Opened: August 15, 1971; Closed January 19, 2002. Demolished from late January 2002 through June 2002.Source for opened
Cost: $7.1 million; Source for cost

Names and sponsors

Schaefer Stadium
1971–1983
Naming deal ran through the 1982 season.
Source
Sullivan Stadium
1983–present
Took effect May 23, 1983. The article does not give the year Robert Kraft dropped the name.
Source
Foxboro Stadium
–2002
Name after Kraft bought the stadium. The article does not date the change.
Source

Timeline

1971
1975
1983
1994
1996
2002
2002

August 15, 1971

Schaefer Stadium opens for the Patriots

The stadium opened on August 15, 1971, as Schaefer Stadium, an early case of a company buying the name without owning the building. A sewage overflow at the first game forced the club to rent portable toilets for the rest of the stadium's life. The Patriots played there for 31 NFL seasons.

Source