ATAC met with the Boston host city team in March. They are responsible for fan services outside the stadium perimeter. A couple of relevant links are below and then our meeting notes follow. We will be having follow up meetings with them and we are in the process of making contact with the Miami host city team.
Scotland play two matches at Boston Stadium (the Gillette Stadium) in Foxborough.
Saturday 13 June v Haiti at 2100
Friday 19 June v Morocco at 1800
Scotland fans will be spread throughout cities and towns around the stadium. Most concentrated groups will be in Boston and Providence. Note that these cities are in different states, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, respectively. The host city team are based in Boston and focussed predominately on fans in that area. While we cannot commit exact numbers, we would anticipate at least 10,000 supporters travelling from Scotland for the matches in Boston.
Mobility and public transport to matches
We made our hosts aware that Scottish fan culture is not to drive to football matches but to travel by public transport or to arrange group travel in the form of buses and coaches. The aim is for 14 trains per match to leave from South Station in Boston, direct to the stadium. 14 trains is an increase on business as usual for American Football matches at this stadium. These are run by MBTA and tickets are bought in advance.
Post-meeting, news was released into the public domain that the train pricing is expected to be around $75 to $95. This appears to be a sizeable increase on normal prices for sporting events and concerts at the stadium which are around $20. French fans for their March fixture with Brazil were charged $30 for the train. Uber was around $50 to go and $80 to get back.
Public transport bus offering is also being looked at. Plans are for these Stadium Express buses to depart from some of the biggest hotels (due to bigger transport loading zones) in the city and travel direct to the stadium. These buses will operate within the Route128 belt which means they will also service hotels in this area out with Boston itself. Pricing for buses needs to be confirmed. Note that these will not be limited to the customers who are resident in the hotels they depart from.
We are getting contact details for the company running the Stadium Express buses. They have an understanding of the overall transport plan so may be of use for private supporter charters.
Trains and buses to the stadium will be for match ticket holders only. Considerations are being taken for people traveling with young kids as well as for people with mobility challenges.
Supporters based in Rhode Island, specifically Providence, are arranging match transport with the help of authorities there. These are likely to depart from the Rhode Island Convention Centre. There are no match trains planned so this will most likely be in the form of buses. For info, Ghana have their team base in Providence.
Stadium and Foxborough
FIFA control activities within the OSP so stadium manifest, facilities etc not discussed. Foxborough is a town of 18,000 residents. It has an area called Patriot Place which is a purpose built three blocks of bars and restaurants. Non-match ticket holders are discouraged from travelling to the stadium. With the expected travel prices we would not expect supporters to travel to sit in empty bars around the stadium.
Fanzone
The FIFA Fan Festival is planned for City Hall Plaza in Boston. This is a 15 minute walk to South Station. Days and hours of operation are still to be confirmed but expectation is that it will be running for up to 16 days. It has a capacity of 5,000 and registration for getting access is still a work in progress. Entry is likely to be free.
Fan Walk
With the stadium being around 25 miles from Boston it is not feasible to walk to the stadium itself. The host city team have three planned routes in Boston for a Fan Walk. These are from a park in the city and would terminate at South Station where ticket holders would proceed to trains to the stadium and non-ticket holders would remain in the city. The Fan Walk would take place well in advance of the match and is approx 3km. While this would be a wonderful spectacle, we question if our support would find this an attractive proposition given the early timing and that it doesn’t terminate at the stadium. There is also the fact that many of our fans are not based in Boston and will be highly unlikely to come into town to walk to a train station. We will consult other ATAC clubs on this. There was also talk of this being a joint walk with our opponents which does not really fit the Fan Walk model we are used to.
Public Viewing
Specific public viewing sites within Boston are still TBC. Bars which normally show sporting events will already have the required permit to screen World Cup matches so this will be business as usual.
Popular Areas
Popular areas where Scotland fans may congregate for bars are Downtown Boston – especially Fenway, Back Bay, West End, North End and the Seaport. Allston/Brighton is a student with some cheaper bars and restaurants on offer. East Boston on the other side of the harbour will also be appealing. The Seaport has a brewery with a large beer garden which may be attractive.
Note that all fans will likely need to show official ID to get into bars, regardless of age. This can be either a passport or driving licence. Some venues may accept photocopies or photos of these documents but many will only accept the originals. Bars are very strict about only serving alcohol to those over 21. Some bars will limit serving drinks to two at a time which will be a cultural change to buying rounds in Scotland. Consuming alcohol is forbidden in the streets.
