He saved New England football from the brink of relocation, built the model professional sports franchise, and restored an era of dominance and success to the Boston area unseen since the Larry Bird days.
Further, Kraft privately funded Gillette stadium without a penny of public support, an act both rarely done while also endearing to the fans which he strives to please. Kraft built Patriots Place into one of the strongest shopping venues in the state and turned Foxboro into more than just another town on your way to route 95.
Kraft's brilliance as an owner cannot be understated, which makes his most recent comments all the more puzzling.
With news of Super Bowl L (That's 50, I think) being awarded to San Francisco, the thought process has shifted dramatically among the dominant powers in the NFL. No longer does a Super Bowl host location specifically need to be deemed "warm-weather," a shift no more apparent than in New York, where plans are already unfolding as the city prepares to host next year's event.
Naturally, much like any neighborhood, Robert Kraft's ears have perked up and his eyes gaze to his neighbors to the west. If New York can host a Super Bowl, why can't Boston? Of course, this all hinges on New York successfully executing Super Bowl week as the experiment could be deemed a total failure.
But Kraft seems to be content with the initial framework of holding the nation's most prolific sporting event at Gillette, an idea which centers around a dual host-site in Boston/Providence.
Unfortunately, in this case, some things are better left untouched.
Understandably, the idea sounds nice. Holding the Super Bowl in one of the countries most impassioned sports cities at New England's crown jewel is rich with both story lines and potential economic boom. But is Boston, and for that matter Providence, really suited to host a Super Bowl?
Any host city is required to offer at least 35,000 hotel rooms to accommodate fans. For this to work in the Boston area, fans would be transplanted throughout much of eastern Massachusetts and northern Rhode Island, as suitable hotel rooms would be utilized west of I-495.
In theory, the host of any party's main goal is to impress his or her's guests. I can think of nothing more impressive than housing out-of-town NFL fans somewhere in Rhode Island and then asking them to fight New England traffic to commute back and forth to the site of all activities. Heck, residents in the Boston area cannot figure out how to commute in and out of the city, yet we'll increase the traffic for a week amid confusing logistics?
And if the idea is to impress, the NFL can also do better than Providence, Rhode Island. Sure, Providence is great for what it is, a small-city with decent college night life. But in the cold of February, who in their right mind wants to peruse the streets of Providence during a week of celebration? Fans will only be able to suffer so many trips to the Providence Place Mall. AHL Bruins games, and B-level hookah bars before disappointment sets in.
There's an incredibly high standard set for Super Bowl host sites. Miami and New Orleans specifically offer extravagant night life within proximity of the stadium and are renowned for their ability to,well, throw a party. Boston does not offer the same allure, especially when the city enforces it's prehistoric drinking curfew of 1AM.
The Super Bowl is a constant party, a constant struggle to impress and satisfy guests. The party's last great event is the game itself. In New England, many would yet again find themselves disappointed.
Sure, Gillette Stadium is nice. It offers adequate seating and fairly simple concourses. Outside of the "red seats," the stadium offers little in eye-popping luxury. Compared to other stadiums recently built, Gillette struggles to compare, especially when holding it in the same light as New York's Met-Life stadium or Houston's Reliant Stadium. Hosting the game at Gillette would be similar to Hugh Hefner holding a Playboy bash in his pool house while keeping the mansion gated and locked.
And can you really picture loads of people piling into Foxboro for an event like the Super Bowl? Imagine, a spectacle this grand being held within Route 1. The night life is rich (Red Fox Motel) and there's plenty of places to, uh, buy a car? Ah, who am I kidding, fans can spend the week at Bass Pro Shops or catching up on all the latest movies.
Boston is great at what it is, a sports town. More specifically, it's our sports town. Most people outside of Boston don't like us anyways and rarely is there a time where the nation's sporting spotlight is on the actual city itself.
The Super Bowl is an entirely different animal, a situation better off to be left alone by Robert Kraft. Because while it sounds nice, I don't believe a dual-site plan offers the same allure once push comes to shove.
If the goal is to impress, it'd be best for Robert Kraft to continue to let his product on the field do the talking. I have a funny feeling that many would leave New England disappointed, as a cold-weather Super Bowl in this area can't compete with the luxuries and attractions of other venues.
Sorry, Providence.
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