You're passing judgment based on an assumption that has no place in reality. One of the articles mentioned the only "compensation" they are getting: Free parking for a year.
Whoop-de-doo.
If you have information that the displaced fans are getting anything more, I would be very interested in reading it. But for now, they really are being screwed.
I guess the emphasis is on the word "reasonable." Free Parking for a season, tickets elsewhere in the stadium and an acknowledgment by the Patriots that this is an unwelcome move seems reasonable to me.
It's Kraft's stadium, built with his own money, not a massive Municipal Bond (see Lucas Oil Stadium) or a loan from the NFL (see the Meadowlands). He has done an incredible job of transforming the Patriots from a denizen of the lower echelons of NFL teams to one of the most respected and successful franchises in the League as well as in all of global sports in less than two decades.
As I said in my post, I feel badly for those who have been affected, but I am ready to accept that Kraft has a vision of what he wants to do with his Stadium and an understanding of what he needs
I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that you are one of the fortunate ones who didn't receive an eviction notice? It would be one thing if affected fans could reject the offer and retain their seats, but that is not what is being proposed. Instead, the owner came up with the compensation and is telling displaced fans they can take it or leave it. We already know that some fans are not pleased with the offer despite the proffered compensation (and apology). They have every right to criticize Kraft for this decision.
The reality is that NFL games are increasingly for big business and the wealthy. As economics change the game, the majority of fans must be content to watch on television. The 20,000 hearty souls who used to venture to Schaefer stadium on Sundays in December to freeze on the benches are rapidly becoming extinct in Foxboro.
Those points are all valid and well stated
I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that you are one of the fortunate ones who didn't receive an eviction notice? It would be one thing if affected fans could reject the offer and retain their seats, but that is not what is being proposed. Instead, the owner came up with the compensation and is telling displaced fans they can take it or leave it. We already know that some fans are not pleased with the offer despite the proffered compensation (and apology). They have every right to criticize Kraft for this decision.
The reality is that NFL games are increasingly for big business and the wealthy. As economics change the game, the majority of fans must be content to watch on television. The 20,000 hearty souls who used to venture to Schaefer stadium on Sundays in December to freeze on the benches are rapidly becoming extinct in Foxboro.
Regarding your first paragraph: While I am one of those used to venture to freeze his butt off in the old stadium, I also think that criticizing a decision is different from reproaching those who made that decision. I didn't say that the fans who have been affected don't have the right to criticize the decision as unfair to themselves, as the group that is affected; in fact, I expressed my empathy with them. But, it is possible for a decision to be unfair to some but also to be the right decision in the context of, in this case, what the Krafts judge is in the best interests of keeping their stadium competitive and generating the Cash Flow that they judge they need to run the facility in the way that they judge best. Given the great things that the Krafts have done with this team, I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on this. As I said in my other post, as long as some modest, reasonable compensation is offered, along with an apology that recognizes the inconvenience, I accept their position.
I agree completely with your second paragraph. Broadcast rights have become the gigantic tail that now wags the NFL; televised NFL games are a very, very big business. Keeping stadium venues attractive to a wide range of fans is one of the toughest challenges that the NFL faces today, especially those without a Dome in cold-weather climates. A Lounge for fans who pay a premium for access to it is, I guess, a way that teams are confronting that challenge.