They are a football team in Greater Boston region. They contend in the National Football League (NFL) as a part club of the association's American Football Conference (AFC) East Division. The Patriots play home games at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, which is 22 miles (35 km) southwest of downtown Boston.
Established in 1959 as the Boston Patriots, the group was a contract individual from the American Football League (AFL) prior to joining the NFL through the AFL-NFL consolidation in 1970. The Patriots played their home games at different arenas all through Boston until the establishment moved to Foxborough in 1971. As a feature of the move, the group changed its name to the New England Patriots. Home games were played at Foxborough Stadium until 2002 when the arena was destroyed to harmonize with the kickoff of Gillette Stadium. The group started involving Gillette Stadium for home games around the same time. For more sports-related articles, visit richestic.