Thursday, August 24, 2000 Older Editions

Touchdown for Andover business: CMGI scores new Pats stadium

By Neil Fater

While the New England Patriots still have one more preseason game tonight, Thursday, before the real hitting begins, an Andover company and its offshoot are already celebrating a key score.

The New England Patriots will kick off the 2002 football season in a new stadium carrying the name of CMGI Inc. of Andover.

The Patriots and CMGI announced Wednesday that the Andover-based Internet giant has bought the naming rights to the $325 million stadium in a 15-year deal worth at least $114 million.

Fans attending the Pats first home exhibition game Sunday saw the groundwork for CMGI Field, which will be built at a cost of $325 million. The stadium is expected to open in time for the 2002 season.

The company will pay $7.6 million per year for 10 years and an amount adjusted for inflation for the following five years. The first payment will be in January 2002.

Under the deal, CMGI and related companies will become the Patriots' official Internet provider. NaviSite, a CMGI-operated company based off River Road in Andover, will run the team's Web site. Activate, another CMGI company, will begin managing Web-casts of Patriots news and special events.

"This agreement marks a significant milestone in CMGI's history," said David S. Wetherell, chairman and CEO of CMGI, based in Brickstone Square in Shawsheen. "Partnering with the New England Patriots enables us to strengthen our local presence while simultaneously reaching a broader national and international audience."

Robert Kraft, owner of the Patriots, said, "In the short period of time we have searched for a naming partner, we were approached by numerous highly respected regional, national and global companies. It was important to us that we select a partner who is helping to create the building blocks of the new economy."

Other contenders for the naming rights reportedly included Fleet Bank, which already owns the rights to the arena that replaced the Boston Garden, home of the Celtics and Bruins.

Wetherell and Kraft were set to host a press conference in Boston yesterday Wednesday to discuss the deal.

NaviSite ready for hits

Meanwhile, in Andover yesterday, NaviSite officially announced that it will host the Patriots newly revamped Web site, .

NaviSite will be responsible for keeping the site available 24 hours per day.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"We tend to not divulge information about specific (agreements)," said Bob Rentsch, NaviSite product marketing manager. "The marque name is sort of more important than the fiscal aspect of it. Just having marque accounts like the New England Patriots do a lot for the company.

"And we can use it as a feel good point for the company," he says.

Rentsch drove back from Foxboro Stadium with a Patriots banner Tuesday that he planned to hang at NaviSite Wednesday as part of NaviSite's official announcement of the deal. Employees gathered Wednesday for a photo opportunity, and to celebrate the announcement.

Although employees celebrated the news yesterday, however, the Patriots actually relaunched their site on Aug. 2, according to Fred Kirsch, Patriots director of interactive media.

"It's a completely new site, from front to back, top to bottom," he said.

"Now, everything on the site is interrelated with everything else," said Kirsch. "Everything is related and referenced."

"They had a site previously, but with the new one, they've added new content. It's much more interactive," Rentsch said.

Rentsch said NaviSite's workers will be the "special teams players" who relieve the Patriots of the day-to-day burden of keeping the site live 24 hours per day.

"I tend to rely on our technical people for decisions like this," said Kirsch.

"(NaviSite) has a world-class operation there (in Andover)," he said. "We get millions of hits a month. We needed a solid host center."

Although each National Football League team controls its own Web site, NaviSite officials hope their work with New England will get them a spot in other team's Web lineups.

"Our hope certainly is (that) other NFL teams, other sports teams follow the leads of the Patriots and develop their sites," says Rentsch.