The Fifth Planning Zone: CRR for a Sold-Out Stadium

Foxborough, Massachusetts not only boasts the Commonwealth's first and only accredited fire department, but it's also home to Gillette Stadium, where major league sports giants defend their home turf, musical megastars perform to sold out crowds, and, in 2026, FIFA will kick off its largest World Cup tournament yet. When an event is in town the population of the town can more than triple, and the unique challenges and specific resources required are why the single-station department refers to the stadium as their fifth planning zone. From Patriots fans to Swifties to international futbol teams and fans, Foxborough Fire and Rescue stays ready.
In this session, Foxborough Chief Michael Kelleher and NFPA CRR subject matter expert and CFAI Commissioner, Chelsea Rubadou, will discuss the strategic multiagency planning required for massive stadium events with shifting dynamics, hazards, and demographics. The process will be explored and interrogated through the lens of community risk assessment and CRR plan development as told by both NFPA 1300 and the CFAI CRA-SOC processes.

We will discuss all of the data that informs their approach to protecting the crowds/events at Gillette Stadium while also continuing to provide exceptional service to their citizens, and we will discuss how years of strategy and process have helped prepare them for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, and in what ways they will need to adapt, if any. The conversation about their CRA-SOC and the NFPA 1300 CRA process will fit naturally into this conversation - how the assessment has both helped them plan and execute, and how learnings from their experience have gone back into their assessment and onto inform their typical operations.
We are in search of another contributor as well, to round out the multi-agency approach, and will keep the planning committee aware of any updates.