Patriots’ Gillette Stadium Ranks In Bottom Tier Of NFL Venues

The New England Patriots are known for having a championship pedigree. But it appears their facility isn’t up to the same standard.

In fact, according to a recent ranking done by The Athletic, Gillette Stadium ranks as a bottom-tier venue across the entire NFL.

Gillette Stadium ended up being ranked 21st out of 30 NFL stadiums by The Athletic’s NFL writers, and that mark might be a bit high for some.

“Somewhat surprisingly, four ballots had it ranked as one of the NFL’s worst stadiums,” The Athletic wrote.

Gillette Stadium was considered state-of-the-art back when it opened in 2002, but with plenty of new stadiums opening since then, it clearly has fallen behind. Gillette Stadium ranked just ahead of Carolina Panthers’ Bank of America Stadium and just behind Raymond James Stadium, which is home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Perhaps the improvements to the facility the Patriots worked on this offseason to enhance the game-day experience will help their future ranking. The most notable addition to the stadium is a 22,200 square-foot video board in the north end zone. It is the largest outdoor video board for a sports venue in the United States.

The less than stellar ranking for the Patriots comes months after the organization wasn’t graded well on the NFL Players Association’s “Player Team Report Cards,” with the team’s facility being heavily scrutinized.

If it’s any consolation prize for owner Robert Kraft and the Patriots, at least Gillette Stadium isn’t FedEx Field, with the Washington Commanders’ home venue getting ranked last. TIAA Bank Field, which is where the Jacksonville Jaguars play, finished second-to-last.

U.S. Bank Stadium (Minnesota Vikings), SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles Rams/Chargers) and Lambeau Field (Green Bay Packers) were ranked as the top three stadiums in that order.