Successfuly Foxborough Opposition

Looking back on 2012 | Foxborough

At year end, an uneasy relationship between Foxborough and its biggest taxpayer

By Michele Morgan Bolton

Globe Correspondent / December 29, 2012

There was a time when Foxborough and its largest taxpayer, the Kraft Group, got along famously. But that has changed. Tension turned to controversy when Las Vegas mogul Steve Wynn pitched a $1 billion casino complex on Route 1 land owned by Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, Gillette Stadium, and the adjoining Patriot Place mall. Supporters and opponents clashed, sometimes angrily, until the proposal was abandoned. But not before selectmen chairman Larry Harrington, a supporter, was voted out of office, and fellow Selectman Mark Sullivan sought police protection after his opposition to the casino drew a death threat from a neighbor. Negotiations also soured between the town and the Krafts over development plans for Route 1, and disputes over sewer access and shared billboard revenues. The relationship remains uneasy at year end, although the two sides now have something else in common: Both face lawsuits stemming from alcohol use during events at the stadium.

Michele Morgan Bolton