Despite No Insurance Deal, Revolution Game Still On

It appears that the New England Revolution's July 6 match against the San Jose Earthquakes will go on although the town and the Kraft Group have yet to come to an agreement concerning the town's liability insurance on Gillette Stadium events.

In a statement, acting town manager Bob Cutler said the two sides have not agreed to a resolution.

“We continue to try to work with the Kraft Group to resolve this issue as we go forward,” Cutler said.

On the morning of July 5, New England Revolution President Brian Biello told supporters on Twitter that they should plan on attending the match.

Kraft Group VP of Media Relations Stacey James added that they have no intention on canceling the game.

"We are certainly mindful that there are thousands of people who have purchased tickets to Saturday’s Revolution game and hundreds more who are scheduled to work the event. We have no intention of canceling the game, as we believe we have satisfied all possible license conditions and have the appropriate insurance to host the event,” James said in a statement. “The issue that remains unsolved is a town insurance matter which we have worked diligently to try to help them resolve and have provided multiple alternatives for the town to consider. Unfortunately, there are some who are demanding us to do more than we are allowed to do under the laws of the Commonwealth. Rather than working together constructively to find ways to insure the Town, some choose to be obstructionists by creating unnecessary obstacles in the process. We will continue to work with responsible Town leaders to properly address public safety, insurance and licensing issues.”

Since June 27, the two sides have attempted to negotiate a temporary agreement that would cover the town’s liability insurance for the soccer match against the Earthquakes while the town finds new insurance for Gillette Stadium events.

On July 1, the town’s liability insurance for stadium events increased from $7,500 per claim to $50,000 per claim. The town is still in the process of finding a new insurance plan to cover town employees working at the stadium.

On July 3, the selectmen voted 4-1 to allow Cutler to negotiate on behalf of the board until the July 5, 5 p.m. deadline. He was instructed to grant the license for Saturday’s game only if an indemnification agreement to their liking was in place, the stadium agreed to pay $42,500 for any liability claims to keep the town’s payment at $7,500, and Foxborough police chief Ed O’Leary was responsible for the security plan. 

The selectmen also looked into restricting alcohol sales but backed down on the request.

Tonight's game will go on unlicensed as the awarding of the license was contingent on the insurance issue being resolved.