Business & Tech

Kraft Group Claims Entertainment License Was Valid

The Kraft Group is defending their decision to allow the Revolution-Earthquakes match to be played as scheduled.

Originally published July 8, 2013

Despite the claims from town officials that the event went on without a license, the Kraft Group has defended their decision to allow the New England Revolution's July 6 match against the San Jose Earthquakes to be played as scheduled.

In a letter obtained by Foxborough Patch to Foxborough legal counsel Richard Gelerman from Kraft Group general counsel James Cobery, the organization felt that they did everything they could to satisfy the terms of the license, but could not fulfill some of the conditions they felt were unlawful.

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Citing Massachusetts law and town by-laws, Cobery said Foxborough must grant an entertainment license unless the town determines that such a license would lead to the “creation of a nuisance or would endanger the public, health, safety or order.”

With the traditionally quiet and calm crowd that attends New England Revolution game, the Kraft Group felt that the license should have been granted based on the law.

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The entertainment licenses for the match and concerts scheduled through August were contingent on the town and the Kraft Group finding a solution to an insurance issue that has been discussed for months.

After the town's insurance provider MIIA raised the deductible on the town's insurance policy for town employees working at Gillette Stadium events from $7,500 to $50,000 per a legal claim, the Kraft Group offered to buy insurance on the town's behalf. When they could not do this due to legal reasons, the group then offered to search for new insurance on the town's behalf as long as they received an authorization letter signed by town manager Kevin Paicos giving them permission to do so.

Despite asking for the letter in early May, the letter was not received until June 26, five days before the deductible for the town's liability insurance for stadium events was set to increase by $42,500.

Cobery also asked Gelerman why the town attempted to find insurance at the same time as the Kraft Group offered to help the town find insurance coverage.

"In our efforts to assist the Town in finding insurance coverage, we learned that in or prior to May 2013, a broker, on behalf of the Town, had already searched the market for alternative policies," Corbery said. "We have been informed that said broker found that no insurer was willing to underwrite coverage to insure against the risks that Town employees would engage in misconduct at events at Gillette Stadium and elsewhere. Had the Town informed us of their efforts, it would have saved us time that was otherwise wasted exhausting repetitive attempts of canvassing the market."

At their last meeting on July 3, the selectmen voted to allow acting town manager Bob Cutler to grant the license for the game with one of the conditions stating that the town's liability was no more than $7,500 per claim with the stadium picking up the remaining $42,500.

Despite representatives from the town and the Kraft Group working constantly in the days leading up to the game to find a solution, both sides were unable to come to an agreement before the July 5 deadline and the license for the game was not issued. In addition to Kraft Group's belief that they fulfilled the license to their best ability, the inability to properly inform the 12,000 ticket holders and any walk-up buyers of the game cancellation led to Saturday's game being played as scheduled.

In the Sun Chronicle, selectwoman Lorraine Brue called the holding of an unlicensed event, "a new experience that has never happened before."

One of the last notable attempts to deny an entertainment license for a Gillette Stadium event was the 2004 Warped Tour. The concert that was set to take place in the parking lot instead of inside the stadium but noise concerns caused the selectmen to deny the license. The decision was overturned by a Norfolk Superior Court judge and the concert was allowed to take place.


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