Gillette Stadium to Host MIAA Super Bowls for Sixth Consecutive Year

For the sixth consecutive year, 12 Eastern Massachusetts high school football teams will be playing for Super Bowl championships inside Gillette Stadium.

Foxborough’s Board of Selectmen have unanimously approved NPS LLC’s Gillette Stadium license application to host the 2012 MIAA High School Super Bowls on Saturday, Dec. 1.

The event, according to Gillette Stadium representative Phil Buttafuoco, will begin at 9 a.m. and will conclude approximately at 9 p.m. There will be six football games played throughout the day in the stadium with 20-minute breaks between each game.

“12 different communities will be coming in and out of Foxborough during the day,” Buttafuoco said. … “Estimated attendance is roughly 17,500.”

Buttafuoco said there is no tailgating permitted for the event and parking lots will open at 8 a.m. – one hour before the first game. Lots are expected to close no later than two hours after the last game ends.

“Typically it’s not an issue after the last game,” Buttafuoco said. “People are ready to go home.”

Parking lots P1, P6, P8 and P9 will be used.

The event is general admission but fans are asked to sit in their respective team’s cheering section.

“We do seat fans for respective teams behind their team benches,” said Buttafuoco. We’ve done a nice job there. … [Foxborough Police] Chief [Edward] O’Leary was appreciative of the efforts over the years to separate the individuals.”

Both sides of the bottom bowl will be used for seating inside the stadium and no alcohol will be served during the event.

Foxborough Fire Chief Roger Hatfield said the Fire Department will provide EMS services, operating at Level 2 and O’Leary recommended selectmen license the event.

“I have reviewed the application and attended the meeting of the Stadium Advisory Committee, where this event was discussed in detail,” O’Leary said. “This agency has multiple years of experience in providing police services both at Foxboro and Gillette Stadiums."

In past years the town has waived the MIAA per ticket fee in lieu of taxes but to date, no request has been made, according to Town Manager Kevin Paicos.

“We have no request at this time to waive the fee as has been done in past years,” Paicos said. “[Tuesday's] vote did not waive the fee. If there is a desire to pursue that it would require a letter and separate action by the [Board of Selectmen] at a later date.”

That request would need to be made by the MIAA.

The Kraft organization will once again be donating the following for the event:

• Use of Gillette Stadium
• Stadium service personnel
• Cable TV coverage

For the sixth consecutive year, the Kraft family will be offering Super Bowl participants and their fans an NFL-caliber game presentation, with music and replays on the stadium’s high-definition video boards.

“High school Super Bowl championships are very special events for the participants in the game and for the entire communities the schools represent,” said New England Patriots CEO Robert Kraft. “We hope playing the games at Gillette Stadium will make these championships even more memorable for everyone involved and we look forward to celebrating in the tradition of high school Super Bowls.”

Since the opening of Gillette Stadium in 2002, the MIAA and the Kraft family had been in discussions about returning the Super Bowls to Foxborough, where they were last played on Foxboro Stadium’s artificial surface in 1990. The installation of FieldTurf at Gillette Stadium in 2006 was a catalyst in the decision to host the games, which has been done every fall since 2007.

The inclement weather date for the event has been scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 2 and possibly Monday, Dec. 3.

CALL FOR COMMENTS: Have you attended a high school Super Bowl game inside Gillette Stadium? What did you think of the experience?  Tell us in the comments section below!