Why Gillette Stadium will be called Boston Stadium during World Cup 2026
With the World Cup descending on Foxboro in June, we'll start hearing more about some place known as "Boston Stadium."
Boston Stadium, it turns out, is actually Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts – home to the New England Patriots, New England Revolution and countless summer concerts.
The facility, which has a seating capacity of about 66,000 fans for football, but can hold more for other events, is actually a little closer to Providence than to Boston – 31 miles away vs. 36 miles away.
Why the name change for the World Cup?
So why not call it Gillette Stadium? The answer is because soccer's governing body, FIFA, prohibits the use of stadium names that are not corporate sponsors. And Gillette Stadium is not alone in using an alias for the coming games. In fact, 14 of the 16 World Cup stadiums will go by different names during the tournament.
Boston Stadium will host seven World Cup matches between June 13 and July 9. Here's a rundown of the other U.S.-based World Cup venues for next summer's games:
Atlanta Stadium: aka Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the National Football League's Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC of Major League Soccer.
Dallas Stadium: aka AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home to the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.
Houston Stadium: aka NRG Stadium, home to the NFL's Houston Texans.
Kansas City Stadium: aka Arrowhead Stadium, home to the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs.
Los Angeles Stadium: aka SoFi Stadium, home to the NFL's LA Rams and LA Chargers.
Miami Stadium: aka Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL's Miami Dolphins and college football's Miami Hurricanes.
New York New Jersey Stadium: aka MetLife Stadium, home to the NFL's NY Giants and NY Jets.
Philadelphia Stadium: aka Lincoln Financial Field, home to the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles and college football's Temple Owls.
San Francisco Bay Area Stadium: aka Levi's Stadium, home to the NFL's San Francisco 49ers and the San Jose Earthquakes of the MLS.
Seattle Stadium: aka Lumen Field, home to the NFL's Seattle Seahawks, as well as the soccer teams Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Gillette Stadium will be called Boston Stadium for World Cup 2026
