FOXBORO, Mass. -- With the New England Patriots on a long vacation, construction crews at Gillette Stadium have made significant progress on the venue's sweeping renovations.
We stopped by the stadium Friday and took photos from outside the main entrance. When completed, the project will result in a glass-enclosed hospitality space, the largest outdoor stadium video board in the United States, an updated entry plaza and a larger lighthouse than the one that used to hover over the north end zone.
Crews broke ground on the project last May and made steady progress throughout the course of the 2022 Patriots season. The foundation of the new lighthouse was in place in late December, but construction had yet to go vertical.
As you'll see in the photos below, much has changed over the last couple of months.
The new Gillette Stadium lighthouse will stand 218 feet and feature a 360-degree observation deck open to fans year-round. The goal will be to provide views of two prominent New England cities.
"The observation deck is so high that you'll be able to see the skyline of downtown Boston and the skyline of downtown Providence," team president Jonathan Kraft said during last year's ground-breaking ceremony.
The Patriots plan for renovations to be finished before the start of the 2023 season.
Whether the franchise will hold a ceremony to celebrate the project's completion remains to be seen. However, we believe there's an opening for the Patriots to kill two birds with one stone: reveal their updated home while honoring Tom Brady, who recently announced his retirement.
