Bill Belichick said the new Gillette Stadium video board changed wind patterns, will affect kickers
The new scoreboard is 370 feet wide and 60 feet tall, spanning a previously open area behind the north end zone.
While most Patriots fans visiting Gillette Stadium this fall will initially be captivated by the scale of the newly-installed video board and upgraded lighthouse, Bill Belichick is only concerned with its effect on the wind and his team’s kicking game.
Belichick, who has always held an interest in wind patterns around Foxborough — famously taking the wind in a 2013 overtime comeback win against the Broncos — was asked on Friday about what the new additions at the stadium will mean for New England’s special teams.
The lighthouse was rebuilt at a bigger size (it now stands 218 feet tall) while the video board — spanning most of the previously open space across the north end zone — is 370 feet wide and 60 feet tall.
“We were in there this spring a little bit,” Belichick replied when asked about the stadium work. “Yeah, there are some changes.”
“We saw a lot of that in the spring, so we can’t control that, whatever it is, it is,” he added. “It’s a learning experience for these guys. We’ll kick in the stadium when we can. Obviously those conditions have changed a little bit, so we’ll see how that goes. It’s a work in progress.”
The video board is set to become the largest curved scoreboard of its kind at any stadium in the United States.
Construction, which began in January, is slated to be complete by the season opener on Sept. 10 against the Eagles.
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