The New England Patriots found themselves in hot water this Sunday after fans complained that they were asked to pay $4.50 for tap water at Gillette Stadium.
Workers at Gillette Stadium had prepared for hot September day — temperatures hit 86 degrees in Foxborough — by doubling their inventory of water bottles. However, the demand far exceeded what they were able to hold in their concession stands and was almost four times the inventory they would have had for an average game.
As different concession stands ran out of water bottles throughout the course of the day, fans asked for cups of tap water instead. Gillette concession stands don’t have the smaller complimentary water cups you may find at other restaurants, so concessionaires resorted to selling tap water in soda cups for $4.50.
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Patriots spokesperson Stacey James said the concession stands were selling tap water while waiting for the bottled water to be restocked.
“We apologize. That should not have happened. It is the first time that I have ever heard that complaint here. We are looking into the matter to ensure that it doesn’t happen again,” James said.
Several Patriots fans voiced their frustrations:
#GilletteStadium is HOT! @Patriots not so much. Ran out of water. $5 for Foxboro tap!?!? pic.twitter.com/cZeMTHVxff
— Dana Caron (@DanaCaron1) September 24, 2017
We are being told at the Patriots Game today when it's 90 that we have to pay $4.50 for tap water when they have run out of bottled water
— Al Curtis (@alcurtis48) September 24, 2017
@Patriots & @GilletteStadium should be called out for selling tap water for $5 after they ran out of bottled water. Way 2 treat loyal fans
— greg dickerson (@gregdickerson13) September 25, 2017
Sophia Eppolito can be reached at sophia.eppolito@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @SophiaEppolito.