Kraft Sports & Entertainment and the New England Patriots on Tuesday filed a complaint against the Massachusetts town of Foxborough in Norfolk County Superior Court over nearly $1 million in security-related fees related to the annual renewal of an entertainment license at Gillette Stadium.
The complaint cited a section of Massachusetts law that says a fee for an entertainment license, or the renewal of one, can’t exceed $100.
“Foxborough has refused to provide an entertainment license for Gillette Stadium that is not ‘conditioned’ on Plaintiffs writing new, seven-figure checks to the Town, even though there is no basis in the parties’ contracts or in the law for such charges,” the complaint read.
In March, Kraft agreed that his company would help pay up front the security costs necessary to play seven World Cups games at Gillette Stadium in June and July, placating Foxborough and ending a protracted public drama that threatened the event in his building.
Tuesday’s complaint did not mention the World Cup or its security costs.
“For more than two decades, the Town of Foxborough and Gillette Stadium have worked cooperatively and thoughtfully to license events at Gillette Stadium, contributing to the success of the stadium, the Town, and the region,” a stadium spokesperson said in a statement to ESPN about Tuesday’s complaint. “Earlier this year, the Town renewed the stadium’s annual event license on significantly different terms.”
The stadium’s management has met with town leaders since then to work toward an amendment to the stadium lease, and negotiations are ongoing, the statement said.
“We intend to continue to work together with Town leaders to address these issues fairly for all,” the stadium spokesperson said.
Messages to the town were not returned.
Foxborough invoiced the plaintiffs for $953,640, which the complaint said would be “the approximate additional annual charge” for renewal. The complaint said the salary and benefits of a police lieutenant to run a “special operations division” and 75% of the salary and benefits of an employee “designated for drone mitigation” were among the costs.
“No town has ever interpreted [the relevant portion of Massachusetts state law] to allow a town to make a license responsible for part of the town’s public safety payroll as a ‘condition’ of obtaining an entertainment license,” the lawsuit said.
According to the complaint, the town had previously billed the plaintiffs as much as $500,000 in administrative charges for entertainment license renewal, and the nearly $1 million recent invoice is in addition to more than $4 million the plaintiffs paid “in lieu of taxes.”
In Massachusetts, an entertainment license is necessary “on premises licensed to serve food or alcohol” and should be obtained from the city or town where “public shows” take place, the complaint said.
The plaintiffs’ complaint said Foxborough town bylaws require a license when ticket sales are over 15,000.
Gillette Stadium is home of the NFL’s Patriots and MLS’ New England Revolution, whose parent company also is a plaintiff. Robert Kraft owns the stadium, which was privately funded, and its teams.
The license is renewed annually when it expires in April. The town’s requirement of a license is a longtime practice, including for Patriots games and the World Cup.
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