Gillette Stadium Game Day Guide
New England Patriots · Foxborough, MA
Know Before You Go
- Bag policy
Gillette Stadium permits a clear bag no larger than 12 x 12 x 6 inches, a one-gallon clear freezer bag no larger than 11 x 11 inches, or a wristlet or handheld wallet no larger than 6.5 x 4.5 inches.
Medical or dietary exceptions should be requested by email at least 48 hours before the event.
- Bag storage
Mobile lockers are available for bags that exceed the stadium size limits; ask a stadium attendant for the current locations on arrival.
Gillette Stadium does not publish a locker fee, and prohibited items are not accepted at entrance gates for safekeeping.
- Gate opening
General Patriots gates open two hours before kickoff.
Most premium spaces open three hours before kickoff, while the Sports Illustrated Pavilion opens two and a half hours before kickoff.
- Mobile tickets
Tickets to Gillette Stadium events are mobile and can be accessed through the Gillette Stadium app.
Open or save the ticket before approaching the gate.
- Re-entry
Gillette Stadium does not permit stadium re-entry at Patriots games after a guest exits.
Parking lots also have no re-entry and do not issue refunds.
- Prohibited items
Gillette Stadium prohibits noncompliant bags, weapons, outside food and drinks, coolers, strollers, umbrellas, noisemakers, lasers, fireworks, drones, selfie sticks, and other listed items.
Review the complete live list because event-specific camera and stroller exceptions may differ.
- First aid
First Aid stations are at midfield on both the east and west Main Concourse and on the Upper Concourse when open.
For most events, another First Aid station operates in Parking Lot 51 when the P10 and P11 parking operations are open.
- Nursing and lactation
A private nursing room is inside First Aid on the west Main Concourse at Section 131.
It has three privacy pods, each with a chair, outlet, side table, and supplies; a baby-changing station is nearby.
- Family restrooms
Patriots family restrooms are behind Sections 140, 203, 217, 224, 237, 304, 314, 326, and 336, with additional locations in premium areas.
Changing tables are available in every stadium restroom.
- Tickets for children
Every guest at a Patriots home game needs a ticket, regardless of age.
- Guest services
Guest Services booths are at midfield on the east and west Main Concourse and on the Upper Concourse when open.
For real-time security or conduct help, text the issue and location to 50894 or call 800-280-9529.
- Service animals
Task-trained service animals assisting guests with disabilities are welcome at Gillette Stadium.
Contact Guest Services early if a service animal may require a seating relocation.
- Smoking and vaping
Smoking and vaping are prohibited inside Gillette Stadium.
Game Day Timeline
What the day looks like at Gillette Stadium, hour by hour.
Lots Open for Tailgating
Official parking lots open 4 hours before kickoff. Arrive early for the best tailgating spots in lots P1-P6.
Patriot Place Opens
Shops, restaurants, and the Patriots Hall of Fame at Patriot Place open for pre-game exploring.
Gates Open
Stadium gates open. Head in early to watch warmups and explore the concourse without crowds.
Player Warmups
Players take the field for warmups. Great photo opportunity from lower bowl seats.
Find Your Seats
Grab your game-day food and drinks, then settle into your seats for the pre-game festivities.
Game Time
The stadium erupts. Join 65,000+ fans in one of the NFL's most electric atmospheres.
Exit Strategy
Expect 30-60 minutes to exit the lots. Many fans stay to tailgate post-game and let traffic clear.
Tips & Fan Reports
Get to the lot at least 4 hours before kickoff. The parking lot opens 4 hours prior. Bring a grill and cook - stadium food is pricey and the tailgate scene is the best part.
Wear very warm socks for late-season games. Even if you dress warm up top, your feet will be numb by the 4th quarter. It's brutal pulling out of the lot after the game too - plan to wait.
Enter by 11:45 and you will avoid lines at the metal detectors and ticket scanning. You can then find an open seat in the 100s and watch warmups. Remember the color of the line you follow to get in.
Wear layers, Foxborough weather can be unpredictable, especially for late-season games.
Patriot Place has heated indoor areas if you need to warm up before the game.
The MBTA commuter rail runs special game-day trains from Boston South Station. Book early.
Parking at Gillette is FREE. One of the only NFL stadiums where you do not pay for parking. But the exit takes 60-90 minutes. Seriously.
Patriot Place (the complex around the stadium) is an entire shopping and restaurant district. You can spend 3 hours there before kickoff without getting bored.
There is no public transit to Gillette in Foxborough. The MBTA runs special game-day trains from Boston South Station but they sell out. Book early or plan to drive.
Patriot Place keeps its own retail parking during events, but it is not a way around the game lots. Ticket holders are directed to general parking regardless.
Before the Game
Tailgating at Gillette Stadium happens in the general parking lots from the moment they open, which for Patriots games is four hours before kickoff. The fire rule is the one to read twice: open fires are prohibited outright, and any fire has to be contained in a suitable burning device that can be moved in an emergency, so fire pits with open flames are out, and nothing can be left unattended. The prohibitions beyond that are aimed squarely at scale rather than at ordinary fans: no kegs, no outside catering, no professional tailgates, and a long list of trailers, box trucks and branded vehicles that cannot come in at all.
Where to Tailgate
General parking lots
The general lots around the stadium, where tailgating happens from the moment they open, four hours before a Patriots kickoff. A vehicle has to fit within a 9 by 18 foot space without impeding people on either side to use a general lot at all.
Known for Open 4 hours before kickoff · 9ft x 18ft per vehicle · Where tailgating is permitted
Patriot Place
The retail and dining complex beside the stadium, which keeps dedicated retail parking during events. Worth knowing that it does not double as game parking: if you are attending the game you still have to use the general lots.
Known for Retail and dining · Dedicated retail parking · Not game parking
Revolution match lots
The same lots on a different clock. For New England Revolution matches the lots open two hours before kickoff, or three for season members, rather than the four hours a Patriots game gets.
Known for 2 hours before kickoff · 3 hours for season members
Pregame Rules
What Gillette Stadium allows before the game, and what it does not.
- Tailgating occurs in general parking lots when they open, unless directed otherwise by officials.
- Open fires are prohibited. All fires must be contained within a suitable and appropriate fire burning device and must be movable in the event of an emergency.
- Fire pits with open flames are not allowed.
- Grills and fires cannot be left unattended, and charcoal must be disposed of properly.
- To park in a general space a vehicle must fit in a 9' x 18' parking space without impeding people on either side.
- No kegs, no outside catering and no professional tailgates.
- No 5th wheel or tow-behind trailers, no 18 wheeler or tractor trailer cabs, no box trucks and no branded vehicles.
- Non-stadium portable toilets are prohibited.
- Lots open 4 hours before a Patriots kickoff, 4 hours before concerts and special events, and 2 hours before Revolution matches, 3 hours for season members.
Weather
Gillette Stadium is open air, so these are the conditions you sit in.
Across the NFL season the warmest month is September, with an average high of 74°F, and the coldest is January, when the average low is 20°F. October is the wettest month at 5.0 inches and September the driest at 3.7 inches.
That January low ranks 7th coldest of the 32 NFL venues, and October here ranks 8th wettest.
September
3.7 inchesOctober
5.0 inchesNovember
4.1 inchesDecember
5.0 inchesJanuary
3.9 inchesWhat to Bring
- Only the outside food and drink the rule allows
Outside food and beverages are not permitted at Gillette Stadium.
- A card or a phone wallet
Gillette Stadium is cashless and accepts contactless payment inside the venue.
- Winter layers, gloves and a hat
January lows average 20°F in the seats at Gillette Stadium.
- A poncho, not an umbrella
Umbrellas are on Gillette Stadium's prohibited list, and October averages 5.0 inches of rain.
Tailgate Gear
Lots open four hours before a Patriots kickoff, two before a Revolution match.
- A grill or fire contained in a proper burning device that can be moved in an emergency
- Something to carry charcoal out in: it has to be disposed of properly, and grills cannot be left unattended
- A vehicle and setup that fit inside a 9 by 18 foot space without crowding either neighbour
- Coolers rather than a keg or catering: both are prohibited
- No tow-behind trailer, box truck or branded vehicle: none of them are admitted to the lots
How We Checked This Page
Every section below names the source it was read from and the day it was read. Where we could not reach a published figure, the page says so rather than presenting an estimate as a checked fact.
- Game day timeline
Gate opening time checked against the venue's own gate-opening policy: General Patriots gates open two hours before kickoff.
- Pregame
Gillette Stadium official site, Plan Your Visit: Parking (tailgating policy, lot times, prohibited items)
- Weather
NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
- Venue policies
Current Gillette Stadium A-Z, bag, health and safety, accessibility, and 2026 Patriots parking guidance reviewed for all structured venue-policy topics.