Sports Hub Underground: Getting pumped for the fall sports season
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There’s nothing quite like NFL football season. And NHL hockey season. And wings. And nachos.
That about covers the main topics on the newest episode of the Sports Hub Underground podcast with Ty Anderson and me. You can listen in the above player. We go over the latest with the Boston Bruins, who are about two weeks away from the start of training camp, and the New England Patriots, who are just days away from the 2023 season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Here’s a rundown of the overarching thoughts on this week’s episode…
— The Boston Bruins have made yet another signing, with the addition of old friend Danton Heinen on a professional tryout agreement (PTO). Ty was at the Bruins’ captain’s practice earlier this week, and has little to report from a lighter day for the team. But as training camp approaches, Ty’s looking at all the Bruins’ moves and wondering about a battle brewing among the forwards.
— Patriots cornerback Jack Jones has beat his gun charges. It’s the harsh reality of the NFL and professional sports: if you’re talented enough, you can be a little more “above the law” than most other people. But it’s certainly a good development for the Patriots, and a relief that the guy’s life wasn’t totally ruined.
— Mac Jones is in an absolutely insane spot in the Patriots’ season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. He’s facing the defending NFC champions, with a great pass-rush going against a banged-up and rusty Pats offensive line, on the day that the team is going to honor Tom Brady at halftime. All of New England better pray that it’s at least a close game at halftime, when the Brady celebration begins…
— To close things out, we draft our “Big 3” must-have food items at a football party.
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Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @realmattdolloff. Check out all of Matt’s content here.
Changes Patriots fans can expect at Gillette Stadium in 2023
2. Impact of the new lighthouse
Scott Zolak: You see the lighthouse when you drive by, what is the foot traffic pattern if any that has changed around that area for fans able to access gates from the north?
Jim Nolan: I think the biggest thing is and you know Zo, we started doing it last year, but we’ve moved the security line out from where it used to be right next to the pro shop. So we do the security screening first and we’ve actually expanded that plaza significantly. The the new plaza is over six acres of land. So what you’ll do is you’ll be screened as you come into the plaza, and then we’re going to have three ticket points of entry. One at our new grand stairs, you know, which comes up right behind the lighthouse. One is behind the pro shop, which is also ADA access to ADA elevators, and then one which is our Ticketmaster ramp, is as soon as you come through, the security screening is on your left and what it does is it spreads out both the security process and the ticketing process to make it much easier for fans coming in from the north to get into the building. You know, but the grand stairs, once you take the grand stairs up, it brings you to our 100 level, literally right beneath the lighthouse where we’ve added a ton of new fan amenities. When you arrive on the 100 level, we have three new food and beverage locations and we have three new bars, you know, all situated to create a communal space in the middle and each of these locations will have some new things that we haven’t served at Gillette Stadium before and then also some old favorites.
4. What are some of the new food favorites?
Inside the tunnel adjacent to the Bud Light Celebration Beer Hall.
Scott Zolak: What are some of the new favorites?
Jim Nolan: One of our locations iss called the Beacon Market and in the beacon market, we have new frying technology that all the big fried food chains use. I won’t name them, but we’re going to have a fried chicken sandwich, which I have tested, and it’s delicious. We’re going have a beef brisket sandwich. We’re going to have a pulled pork sandwich and we’re going to have mac and cheese with pulled pork. And at each of these locations, we’re also going to have healthy options, too. So, you know, we’re going to have salads and wraps and other things. For folks who’ve been down here before, these are more like the the markets that we’ve had on the 100 level. Just with different options.
5. Fans will be able to pour their own beers
Doctor’s Island Beer – Hull, Massachusetts.
Jim Nolan: I think my favorite is going to be The Takeaway Tavern. You’re going to be able to pour your own beer. And in in these locations, over the course of the month, we’re rolling out what is the technology called Zip In, which is kind of the just walk out technology, you know, where you’ll scan your credit card on the way in, you’ll pick up your items and you literally just walk out. So it’ll be much faster. But in The Takeaway Tavern, first of all, you can pour your own beer, which is really cool on a game day and then as you walk around, you can grab a smashed burger, which is top notch. So in that location we’ll have smashburger and french fries, of course. And then, you know, a big favorite at Gillette are the fried chicken tenders. So that’s a location. If you’re looking to grab a beer and grab a burger and do it really quickly, come find the Takeaway Tavern.
6. What’s the technology behind pouring your own beer?
Marc Bertrand: It’s just like a soda machine. Yeah, it’s go up and get your own.
Jim Nolan: No, you can’t do that. It’s a controlled pour, so you can’t top it off. But as we do with all alcohol servers in Gillette Stadium, it’s monitored. And so it will have the same, you know, our same attention to detail will go into that place. But it just kind of unique where you get to physically pour your own beer in an NFL Stadium.
Scott Zolak: Is it a special cup? Does it have a chip in it that like when you place it down… I’ve seen it. It’s like Pittsburgh has these.
Jim Nolan: There’s no chip in our cups, you know, so what you do is you pop the cup underneath the system and then you hit a button and it pours the exact amount. So on a 24 ounce cup, it’s going to pour 24 ounces of beer. And like I said, then you can’t you can’t top it off. But with the Zip In technology, once we, you know, we check your ID, we check your sobriety before your beer, you’re just literally going to walk out the door.
