COVER STORY
BUILDING the Rev’s NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART FIELDS By Patrick Maguire, RLA
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stablished as one of the original Major League Soccer franchises by Robert Kraft in 1994, the New England Revolution called the old Foxboro Stadium home until the completion of Gillette Stadium in 2001. The Revs’ original training ground was at the Foxborough State School. While it has “state” in the name, it certainly was not “state-ofthe-art.” In 1999, two under-drained sand-based fields, shared with the New England Patriots, were constructed as part of the Gillette Stadium project which opened in 2001. A third sand-based field was constructed in 2002 as the principal training field for the Revolution, though it too was utilized by the Patriots when the Revs were not in season. The ongoing success of the six-time World Champion Patriots, coupled with expansion of the Rev’s fanbase and the popularity of the Revolution’s Academy, made the need for a more specific “soccer only” training facility a top priority for the Kraft family and Revolution management. The Kraft Group engaged Activitas, field consultants for the Patriots and Revolution for more than a decade, to study sites around Gillette Stadium and Patriot Place to locate a new stateof-the-art training facility for the Revs’ First Team and Revolution Academy. Multiple sites were considered, and a 68-acre parcel located behind Patriot Place and the Empower Field House was selected. The site was not without significant challenges. Of the 68acres, only 24 could feasibly be utilized for development of the facility. The site was quarried throughout the 1960s, leaving it devoid of topsoil. Significant grade changes and streams rerouted as part of the quarry operations divided the site. Over time the site became dappled with depressions that created new wetland areas which are now under state, local and federal jurisdiction. Club ownership and the design team viewed the traditional development shortcomings of the parcel as an opportunity to transform the derelict site into a one-of-kind training facility. Instead of conventional cookie cutter fields clustered side by side and end to end, the design dispersed the fields throughout the site, linking them with natural woodland pathways, boardwalks and pedestrian bridges. Degraded wetlands and riverfront were restored with imported engineered soils, native wetland and upland seed mixes. More than 350 native trees, 550 shrubs and 1000 grasses and herbaceous ground cover plants were planted to create habitat value and a native New England forest aesthetic.
10 • New England BLADE • December 2019
The first phase of the project, a 111,000 sq. ft. training field, was completed in the Fall of 2017. Initially utilized by the First Team, it consisted of a 10" sand based rootzone over a 4" pea stone drainage blanket and underdrain system. The second phase of the project, just completed in October 2019, consists of a new 19,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art training building. Designed by Populous, the building includes lockers for the First Team and Academy programs; a full-service kitchen and dining area; strength, conditioning and training rooms; media support; and offices for Revolution management, operations and sales staff. Adjoining the new building are two First Team fields surrounded by large earth berms landscaped with native vegetation. Totaling approximately 226,500 sq. ft., the fields have a 10" sand-based profile over a 4" pea stone drainage blanket to match the field built in the initial phase. The 85/15 sand soil mix drains between 13 – 15 i.p.h. The sod is a blend of durable Kentucky bluegrass varieties (30% Midnight Star, 30% Brilliant and
Subgrade preparation is critical for performance. STS crews laser grade subgrade and pea-stone drainage trenches prior to spreading drainage blanket materials.”
