{"id":2462869,"date":"2026-06-16T22:10:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T22:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2462869"},"modified":"2026-06-16T22:10:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T22:10:01","slug":"kraft-group-sues-foxboro-over-nearly-1m-entertainment-license-fee-for-gillette-stadium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/kraft-group-sues-foxboro-over-nearly-1m-entertainment-license-fee-for-gillette-stadium\/","title":{"rendered":"Kraft Group sues Foxboro over nearly $1M entertainment license fee for Gillette Stadium"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The Kraft Group filed a lawsuit against the town of\u00a0 Foxboro Tuesday over an entertainment license fee of $1 million for Gillette Stadium they say is part of a pattern of the town improperly using licensing authority to \u201cextract funds\u201d from the organization.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe immediate precipitating basis for this lawsuit is a recent renewal of Gillette Stadium\u2019s entertainment license,\u201d the lawsuit states. \u201cFoxborough has state authorization to charge Plaintiffs a maximum fee of $100 each year to renew the Stadium\u2019s entertainment license. This April,\u00a0Foxborough used what should have been a routine entertainment license renewal as a pretext to\u00a0charge Plaintiffs approximately $1 million annually in new administrative fees.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit, filed by the principal operators of Gillette Stadium through the Kraft Sports and Entertainment LLC in Norfolk Superior Court, argues that the town improperly sent an invoice of over $950,000 in April to renew the stadium\u2019s entertainment license.<\/p>\n<p>The new fees added to \u201cthe hundreds of thousands of dollars of improper administrative fees and\u00a0related levies that Foxborough was previously charging Plaintiffs,\u201d the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n<p>The new lawsuit follows a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonherald.com\/2026\/03\/06\/foxboro-met-with-resistance-as-kraft-group-offers-1-5m-for-world-cup-security-funding\/\">spat between Foxboro and the Kraft Group over a $7.8 million World Cup safety bill<\/a> in March that the town claimed the group failed to pay upfront. The dispute ended days later, with all parties issuing a statement agreeing that Foxboro would \u201cnot incur any cost or financial burden related to the FIFA World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Foxborough Select Board responded in a statement Tuesday, saying they are \u201cdisappointed\u201d in the group\u2019s decision to appeal the license. The board noted they hadn\u2019t yet reviewed the appeal and couldn\u2019t comment on specific claims, but argued the fee was related to legitimate costs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Town, through its licensing authority, has an obligation to ensure that the costs associated with private events are borne by the entities that conduct and benefit from those events, rather than by Foxborough taxpayers,\u201d the Foxboro officials stated.<\/p>\n<p>The 2026 entertainment license included provisions requiring the private stadium operators \u201cto reimburse the Town for vital public safety and other municipal services necessary to support events held at Gillette Stadium,\u201d Foxboro\u2019s Select Board stated.<\/p>\n<p>The Kraft Group\u2019s lawsuit states the new charges were imposed without \u201cseeking comment from Foxborough\u2019s residents and without presenting any witnesses or evidence,\u201d in spite of legal requirements.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit goes on to allege the town has previously \u201cused licensing powers and other\u00a0administrative means to extract large payments,\u201d citing examples like a $300,000 fee for wastewater even though they claim the stadium does not send anything to Foxboro\u2019s sewer system.<\/p>\n<p>The funds, they allege, go to \u201cmiscellaneous administrative funding\u201d and other specific programs.<\/p>\n<p>The Kraft Group claims they have proposed paying \u201cat least as much\u201d in new payments to the town\u2019s general fund mostly by increasing their share of concert revenue from the stadium, instead of the \u201cinflated service fees and unlawful administrative charges that are treated as special revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Under the proposal, the group says, the town would be required to pay for the services to the stadium and would \u201cno longer have an incentive to inflate those expenses.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related left\"\/>\n<p>Having reached a stalemate, the lawsuit states, the group reached the deadline to contest the fee in court and is seeking relief from the fee in excess of the $100 statutory maximum.<\/p>\n<p>The Select Board argued the stadium\u2019s security needs are \u201cincreasingly complex\u201d and \u201cconditions of the license issued by the Select Board were carefully crafted to ensure the health and safety of fans, concert-goers, employees, and area residents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThroughout discussions with Kraft Sports + Entertainment\u2019s representatives, the Town\u2019s position has remained consistent: Foxborough residents should not be asked to subsidize the municipal costs associated with privately operated events,\u201d the board stated. \u201cThis position is also reflected in the Town\u2019s long-term lease of the stadium land, under which the Kraft Group, as lessee, has agreed to bear such costs.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.bostonherald.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Kraft Group filed a lawsuit against the town of\u00a0 Foxboro Tuesday over an entertainment license fee of $1 million for Gillette Stadium they say is part of a pattern of the town improperly using licensing authority to \u201cextract funds\u201d from the organization. \u201cThe immediate precipitating basis for this lawsuit is a recent renewal of 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