Ask any longtime Patriots fan about Foxboro Stadium and you’ll get stories about frozen bleacher seats, an infamously overtaxed restroom setup, and a stadium that felt more like a big high school field than an NFL venue — told with genuine affection. For 31 seasons, this stripped-down concrete bowl in Foxborough, Massachusetts hosted everything from World Cup soccer to U2 and Rolling Stones concerts to the single most argued-about play in NFL playoff history.
Known at different points as Schaefer Stadium, Sullivan Stadium, and finally Foxboro Stadium, the venue never held more than about 61,000 fans, yet it left an outsized mark on football, soccer, and live music in New England before crews tore it down in 2002 to make way for Gillette Stadium. Here’s everything worth knowing about its capacity, its three names, its exact location, and the snow-covered final night that changed the Patriots franchise forever.
Quick Answer
Foxboro Stadium’s final listed capacity was 60,292 seats (1995-2002), down from the 61,114 seats it held when it opened in 1971 as Schaefer Stadium. It stood on U.S. Route 1 in Foxborough, Massachusetts, and served as the Patriots’ home for 31 seasons before it was demolished in 2002 to make way for Gillette Stadium, which occupies the same site today.
Capacity Through the Years
Foxboro Stadium’s capacity shifted more often than most fans realize, adjusting almost every few years as bleacher sections were reconfigured. The original 1971 figure of 61,114 held only briefly: it dipped to 60,999 in 1972, then climbed to 61,279 for 1973-1977 and 61,297 for 1978-1983, the stadium’s highest listed capacity. A reconfiguration for 1984-1987 brought it down to 60,890, and after Robert Kraft’s 1988 renaming the number settled at 60,794 through 1994. The final adjustment, effective for the 1995 season, set capacity at 60,292 — the figure recorded through the Tuck Rule Game and every game before it back to 1995.
Most of those seats were aluminum bench-style bleachers without individual seatbacks, so official counts were really bench-length estimates rather than fixed seat totals. Only a small section near midfield had permanent chairback seating. By the late 1990s, that capacity placed Foxboro Stadium near the bottom of the NFL’s rankings, and the gap — combined with aging infrastructure and a near-total lack of modern amenities — helped push the Kraft family toward building a replacement.
Three Names, One Stadium: Schaefer, Sullivan, and Foxboro
The stadium’s three official names each marked a different chapter in Patriots history. It opened in 1971 as Schaefer Stadium, named for the Schaefer Brewing Company in one of the NFL’s earliest corporate naming-rights deals — a blue-collar, beer-and-football identity that suited its exposed-concrete, bleacher-heavy construction.
When Schaefer’s deal expired after the 1982 season, Anheuser-Busch bought the naming rights but chose to honor the Sullivan family, the Patriots’ majority owners, rather than brand it with one of its own beer labels. Sullivan Stadium took effect on May 23, 1983, and lasted until real-estate developer Robert Kraft purchased the venue and stripped the Sullivan name, renaming it Foxboro Stadium in 1988 after its host town rather than any owner or sponsor. The physical structure barely changed across all three eras: the same unenclosed bowl, the same aluminum bleachers, the same brutal New England winter exposure that made late-season home games a real competitive edge for the Patriots.
Construction and Field History
Groundbreaking took place on September 23, 1970, on land donated by the owners of the former Bay State Raceway, and the stadium was completed in under a year entirely without public money — one of the few major-league venues of that era built without taxpayer funding. Architects David M. Berg Associates Inc. and Finch/Heery designed a single-tier grandstand along each sideline with open bleacher sections behind the end zones, while J. F. White Contracting Co. handled construction. The $7.1 million final cost (roughly $56 million in today’s dollars) came in just $200,000 over budget.
The playing surface changed three times: Poly-Turf artificial turf from 1971-1976, AstroTurf from 1977-1990, and natural grass starting in 1991 — the surface it kept through its final game in January 2002.
Where Foxboro Stadium Stood — and What’s There Now
Foxboro Stadium sat along U.S. Route 1 in Foxborough, Massachusetts, roughly midway between Boston and Providence, Rhode Island. The site had no nearby rail or highway interchange, and its unpaved parking lots — combined with the undivided four-lane Route 1 — made postgame exit times of an hour or more a routine complaint among fans.
Nothing of the original structure remains today. Gillette Stadium opened on the same footprint in September 2002, and the surrounding land became Patriot Place, a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex anchored by the team’s current stadium. Anyone looking for current game-day details — hours, tickets, or parking for the modern venue — should check the official Gillette Stadium website rather than any historical listing for the demolished Foxboro Stadium.
The Tuck Rule Game: Foxboro Stadium’s Final Night
Foxboro Stadium closed the way it had operated for three decades: outdoors, in brutal weather, in front of a full house. On January 19, 2002, snow blanketed the field as the Patriots hosted the Oakland Raiders in an AFC Divisional Playoff. Oakland led 13-3 entering the fourth quarter before New England began its comeback. With 1:50 left and the Patriots trailing 13-10, Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson hit quarterback Tom Brady as he raised his arm to throw; the ball came loose, and officials initially ruled it a fumble recovered by Oakland’s Greg Biekert.
A replay review by referee Walt Coleman overturned the call under the NFL’s tuck rule, ruling Brady’s motion an incomplete pass rather than a fumble — one of the most debated officiating decisions in league history. Given new life, New England drove downfield, and Adam Vinatieri buried a 45-yard field goal through the snow with 27 seconds left to tie the game 13-13 and force overtime. Vinatieri won it in overtime with a 23-yard field goal, sending the Patriots to the AFC Championship on a 16-13 final score in front of 60,292 fans — Foxboro Stadium’s official capacity to the very end. New England went on to win Super Bowl XXXVI weeks later, and Foxboro Stadium never hosted another game. Demolition began within weeks of that final game and continued into June 2002.
On the World Stage: FIFA World Cup 1994 and 1999
Despite its modest size, Foxboro Stadium earned an international profile by hosting six matches at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The most celebrated was Argentina’s 4-0 win over Greece, in which Diego Maradona scored what proved to be his final World Cup goal and Gabriel Batistuta added a hat-trick in front of 54,456 fans. The stadium also hosted Argentina vs. Nigeria — Maradona’s last official FIFA World Cup match — and an Italy vs. Spain quarterfinal.
Five years later the venue hosted five matches at the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup, including a semifinal in which China routed reigning champion Norway 5-0 in front of 28,986 spectators, part of a tournament that became one of the best-attended women’s sporting events in history.
Beyond Football: MLS, Concerts, and Other Events
American football and international soccer were only part of Foxboro Stadium’s résumé. The New England Revolution played their inaugural MLS seasons there from 1996-2001, and the stadium hosted MLS Cup twice: the 1996 final, won by D.C. United over the LA Galaxy in extra time before 34,643 fans, and the 1999 final in front of 44,910. It also hosted the 2001 WUSA Founders Cup, in which the Bay Area CyberRays beat the Atlanta Beat on penalty kicks after a 3-3 draw. Before the Revolution, the NASL’s New England Tea Men called Foxboro Stadium home in the late 1970s.
The stadium’s concert history was just as busy. Its stage hosted U2, Elton John, Madonna, The Who, Paul McCartney, Genesis, Pink Floyd, and the Rolling Stones across multiple tour stops from the mid-1970s through the late 1990s, plus seven Dave Matthews Band shows between 1998 and 2001. The 1994 Drum Corps International World Championships and WWF’s King of the Ring tournaments in 1985 and 1986 rounded out a events calendar that made Foxboro Stadium one of the busiest multi-use venues in New England.
Foxboro Stadium FAQs
What was Foxboro Stadium’s seating capacity?
60,292 seats in its final years (1995-2002), down slightly from the 61,114 seats it held when it opened in 1971 as Schaefer Stadium. The number moved several times in between as sections were reconfigured, peaking at 61,297 during 1978-1983.
Why did Foxboro Stadium have three different names?
It opened as Schaefer Stadium (1971-1982) under a naming-rights deal with the Schaefer Brewing Company, became Sullivan Stadium (1983-1988) when Anheuser-Busch bought the rights and chose to honor Patriots owners the Sullivan family, and was renamed Foxboro Stadium in 1988 after Robert Kraft bought the venue and named it for its host town instead.
Where was Foxboro Stadium located, and what’s there now?
It stood on U.S. Route 1 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The original structure is gone; Gillette Stadium and the Patriot Place retail and entertainment complex now occupy the same site.
What was the Tuck Rule Game?
It was Foxboro Stadium’s final game — a January 19, 2002 AFC Divisional Playoff against the Oakland Raiders, played in a snowstorm. A controversial reversed-fumble call under the NFL’s tuck rule kept a Patriots drive alive, Adam Vinatieri tied it with a 45-yard field goal, and New England won 16-13 in overtime on his 23-yard game-winner.
Did Foxboro Stadium host World Cup soccer?
Yes. It hosted six matches at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, including Diego Maradona’s final World Cup goal, and five matches at the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup, including a China-Norway semifinal.
When was Foxboro Stadium demolished?
It closed after the Tuck Rule Game on January 19, 2002, and demolition began within weeks, continuing into June 2002 to clear the site for Gillette Stadium, which opened that September.
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