Patriots announce plans for new training facility to be built next to Gillette Stadium
Construction is predicted to be complete in 2026.
After receiving some of the worst grades in the NFL from recent player surveys of team facilities, the Patriots announced a major new project on Wednesday meant address infrastructure shortcomings.
Set to be built next to Gillette Stadium, the Patriots said that the project will be a “stand-alone training facility for the exclusive use of the football team.”
The three-story building will host much more of the team’s weekly activities, but noted that the stadium itself will obviously still play the central role on Sundays.
“While the day-to-day activities will primarily be spent in and around the new center,” per the team’s press release, “the core pieces for the team’s gameday needs, including their stadium locker room, will remain intact.”
“The whole project is designed around the players and the player experience,” Kraft Sports and Entertainment COO Jim Nolan said of the design. “As teams and team operations have grown, it was time for us to design a larger facility exclusively for the operation of the football team. The main floor is designed for where the players will work out, train, rehab, relax, and eat. The top floor is designed for where players and coaches will watch game film, strategize and meet.”
The entire project follows a trend over the last two years in which NFLPA surveys of players’ thoughts on team facilities placed the Patriots near the bottom of the league.
In 2023, players graded the team’s weight room with a “D” letter grade, also rating the team’s treatment of families, locker room, and training room as all in the bottom one-third of the NFL.
In 2024, the grades were even worse. The locker room ranked last in the league (receiving an “F” letter grade), with even ownership receiving a “D+” grade.
“The results point to club management that has not been keeping up with changing times; as in most categories, the player responses highlight outdated facilities and stale services,” the NFLPA overview said of the Patriots.
Still, the upgrades will take some time.
According to the Wednesday announcement, the current projection is for construction to be complete in the spring of 2026.
In an apparent answer to player critiques, the new facilities will have a nutrition center, expanded training room facilities (including hot tubs, cold plunge tubs, and a pool) as well as an “enlarged, open-space locker room connected to an expanded weight room that will open directly onto three redesigned practice fields.”
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