help with parking at Gillette Stadium

[simonsmom]

taking my daughter to see One Direction on Saturday. We've never been there and the parking situation looks confusing and expensive. any tips? should I try to park near stadium and will I be able to without already having a parking pass.

 

[3boymthr]

You will absolutely be able to park at the stadium without getting a parking pass first. They actually only sell parking passes ETA - ahead of the event - to the Foxboro Residents and employees get passes as well. Otherwise there are no passes for parking, unless you happen to get tickets that come with a free pass.

The lots usually open around 5 PM for a 7PM though for one direction it may be a little earlier because signs on Rte 1 said the concert was at 6PM (Oldest DS' employee pass says 7 PM). This could be a typo on the signs or it could be that they are anticipating so much traffic that they are planning on opening lots early. I can let you know tomorrow as soon as I get home - I'll know by what time they kick us out of the office

The amount you pay will depend upon how far you want to be from the stadium. Signs at the outlier lots (those not owned by Gillette) had signs of $40 yesterday but that might have been for the Revs game that they had last week. There are authorized lots as far away as Route 140 from the south and as far north as North Street - though sometimes the Funway Cafe will sell a sandwich for $40 and give "free parking." How close you get will also depend upon how much time you are willing to sit in traffic before the concert. You can get into the lots earlier than 5 PM but they will give you a window ticket/pass to show that you are shopping and you must go shopping or have dinner and you must get your pass stamped by the place(s) you eat/shop at.

One more edit - make sure you have cash. All the outlier lots are cash only and I'm reasonably sure the lots owned by Gillette are as well.

 

[pat fan]

We've only been to Patriots games, no concerts, but I highly recommend the on-site parking lots. Who wants to hike a mile with traffic all around you to get to your car in the dark???? We used to get there for just before the gates opened so we could get a decent parking spot. WDW rules work in a lot of "real life" situations,. Arrive early!!!

 

[reenie1]

We are going to be at the concert at Gillette tomorrow night. I am planning on getting there very early and eating/checking out the mall area. I am assuming I will have to move my car at some point? Does anyone know if you get to the parking lot early, do you actually get a good spot in terms of being able to leave, or do they fill the parking lot from the back so you end up waiting the longest, or is it just luck of the draw?? I know we will likely be in traffic getting out for hours, but any way to try and cut out some traffic would be helpful! Thanks.

 

[3boymthr]

I think the only people guaranteed an easy out are the hawkers - who actually have to be out slightly before the concert ends - and residents of Foxboro who use the North St. entrance and those who park in the Seasonal Specialty Stores parking lot - which lets out not only on to Route one but also on to Pine Street and on to Rte 140. But that lot is a little over a mile from the stadium. ETA - even if you arrive early be prepared for traffic. They will start closing lanes well before the concert. We have had trouble getting out the lot for our office as many as 5 hours before an event because lanes have been closed. Also, I'm not sure if they move you or not. I know that they do give you a ticket/pass as I mentioned earlier, simply because I had to go to BassPro a few hours before a game and they gave me one, but I also left and went home before the game started.

 

[3boymthr]

Just wanted to post that traffic started backing up at 3 PM today despite torrential rain, lightning and hail. By 4:15 as you head north on route 1 (from 495) the traffic had backed up to to about 1.75 miles before the stadium. Now the traffic may have been complicated by a fire on East Street (the access road to/from 140) that started during the rain.

On another note. If you see a cop walking out into the flow of traffic - STOP. Really. Someone almost ran over a State police officer in front of my building this afternoon as he was stopping traffic to let me out. She missed him by less than a foot. He read her the riot act and threatened to give her a ticket.