The World Cup is coming to the home of the New England Patriots–Gillette Stadium–this summer. While it sounds like a grand old time, there are some issues that arise, one of which is tailgating. Tailgating is when fans arrive hours before a game and gather in the parking lot to eat and socialize. It is a tradition during all NFL games, but for World Cup events this tradition is prohibited from taking place. This makes sense as all the parking spaces will be needed. However, there is a missed opportunity here. Keeping tailgating would show non-football/sports fans a way to bring people together and that not everyone hates each other in this country.
Another problem with the events is the increased traffic the town of Foxboro, Massachusetts, will see. Even with regular football games and concerts, traffic is already a nightmare when getting to or leaving the stadium. Back in March, the stadium hosted a ‘friendly’ match between France and Brazil, and according to CBS News, “was a huge success by every security metric.” However, it failed in dealing with the traffic. Foxboro Police Chief Michael Grace spoke on the issue, saying, “It sucked. The traffic was bad.” Further, Boston 25 News states that town board members are “questioning how many large-scale events the town can reasonably handle without placing too heavy a burden on residents.” Certainly, having these events has many positive effects, without a doubt. However, I see the point being made here.
Can a small New England town truly handle the volume of people that are going to move through? Sure, Foxboro does it somewhat well when it comes to football games, but that’s only for people from New England. The World Cup brings in people from across the country and even the world. The test from March brought around 60,000 people. I think that is probably a way larger volume than a football game. It’s not fair to the residents either, in my opinion. They have to deal with gridlock traffic in their own neighborhood and on the streets when they need to run an errand. I believe it’s best to consider adding better infrastructure to the area, or consider new ways to alleviate the traffic for the people of Foxboro.
Nathan Eliopoulos can be contacted at
