Last modified: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 12:16 AM EDT FARINELLA: Patriot Place, is it out of place? The Kraft family got a big wet kiss from a Boston newspaper last week, in the form of a major display of articles and graphics devoted to "Patriot Place," the commercial development that will radically transform the Gillette Stadium property into a 365-day-a-year destination for people who probably have next to no interest in football. Shops, restaurants, a major Renaissance Hotel (good for traveling reporters who live on Marriott Points), a multiplex movie theater, and even an outpatient surgical clinic are just part of the plans for a large chunk of the 300-plus acres that Kraft owns along U.S. 1. This isn't new news, of course - your Blue Ribbon Daily has been dutifully covering the story since the Patriots' owner and his minions first informed town fathers of their next step toward the total Kraftification of Foxboro. But as is usually the case, Bob and his boys saved the best nuggets of information for those who are most likely to be able to do a better kiss-up job on their behalf over a wider swath of territory. So it was that I learned this weekend of the identity of some of the retailers destined for Patriot Place - at least other than Bass Pro Shops, the big-box outdoors-goods retailer making its first foray into the Eastern Massachusetts market and known for some time to be part of the Patriot Place mix. I thought that one of my closest friends was going to be absolutely ecstatic when I told her that a big Victoria's Secret store was planned for the complex just a few miles from her home. Imagine my surprise when she said, "Big deal. They never put the good stuff in the stores anyway. I'll still have to shop online." I'm sure the world needs another Christmas Tree Shops store, too. Having one contributing to the traffic on Route 1 just 12 miles down the road in North Attleboro just doesn't seem like enough to me. Ditto Circuit City, which is in the same general area in North Attleboro. Maybe it's just me, but I still have to wonder if Bass Pro Shops has the local appeal to make it the centerpiece of a major commercial development. I have friends who are more outdoorsy than I am, and they assure me that the chain's novelty in this market and selection of quality outdoor goods will make it a big hit - and as a big fan of continued local prosperity, I hope they're correct. Personally, however, I'm conflicted. I lived for 11 years on Bungay Lake in North Attleboro and took up the gentleman's sport of fishing during that time, which provided me with many pleasant hours of relaxation and not too many fish. But I've since moved away, the boat has been sold and the fishing rods were thrown into the dumpster. As an aside, seriously, is there a dumber animal on the face of the earth than a large-mouth bass? I mean, the thing swims around the bottom of the lake, sees a shiny plastic worm wiggling in front of it and chomps down on it time after time, never once remembering that there was a sharp hook awaiting that bite. You don't have to be an ichthyologist to know when a fish has been caught and thrown back repeatedly. At least the few pickerel that live at the bottom of Bungay can put up a little more of a fight with their sharp teeth, discouraging clumsy anglers like me who try to de-hook them with their bare hands. Those dumb bass just keep chomping away on those hooks with nary a thought until they have nothing left to chomp with. But I digress. I suppose if I can find something to wear at Bass Pro Shops that will help keep me warm during those MIAA football playoff games played in 15-degree cold, I'll forever honor the day that Bob Kraft had the ultimate wisdom to bring them to Patriot Place. There will be a few things in the new development that will serve football fans well - and I'll actually have a hand in some of it. I recently became a member of a 27-member panel that will nominate new candidates for the Patriots Hall of Fame, which will be an integral part of "The Hall at Patriot Place," a new building close to the stadium that will also house an expanded Pro Shop. To this point, the 11 members of the team's Hall of Fame have been inducted in a willy-nilly fashion, more as the spirit moved the team than anything else. I was stunned when I was recently reminded that the last ex-player to be so inducted, Bruce Armstrong, joined the list six seasons ago. The new panel will pick three candidates for enshrinement every year, and fans will provide the final vote. The enshrined players will be honored within "The Hall at Patriot Place," which will also feature interactive exhibits about the team's history and artifacts from football at all levels in New England. This is a development with an eye on the future, because the team's current level of success ensures plenty of new membership within the next decade. Indeed, the team may have to open the doors more than once in some years down the road. One way or another, however, it should be a must-see stop for future Patriots' fans. I'm a little less sure about the rest of Patriot Place, however. We seem to be going through a shop-'til-you-drop phase in commercial development along the I-95/I-495 corridor. Start with new malls on the books in Westwood and Dedham, down to Patriot Place and the new cluster of stores coming in Mansfield, all the way down to existing developments in Wrentham, North Attleboro and South Attleboro and finally to Providence, and I have to wonder at what point oversaturation becomes a concern. More specifically about Patriot Place, I really have to wonder how it's going to operate on game days. Will there be enough parking for 68,000 football fans with the mall open? Will the mall have to close on football Sundays, which would be the kiss of death during the Christmas shopping season? And aside from certain stores with drawing power, is Foxboro the right location to draw enough people year-round to a major hotel, several high-end restaurants and a jazz club to keep them profitable? I'm reminded of the night of Aug. 15, 1971, when 61,000 football fans (myself included) descended upon Foxboro all at once for the first time to mark the opening of Schaefer Stadium. Unfortunately, not one single soul had given a moment's thought to the impact that so many cars and so many people would have on a four-lane highway of the 1940s that had become an afterthought once I-95 was completed. I know it would be foolish of me to suggest that no one has gauged the impact of a major mall and entertainment complex upon the access to a football stadium that took more than 30 years to straighten out and get reasonably right. But a little voice inside my head is telling me that the situation is filled to the brim with potential "gee, we didn't think of that" moments. After all, Route 1 is still Route 1. And it's still a mess - albeit a much more orderly one - on 10 football game days a year. Maybe someone in one of the ivory towers came to the conclusion that we just haven't suffered enough since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, and felt the need to restore some good, old-fashioned Calvinistic angst to the Sunday football experience. It wouldn't be New England if there wasn't some suffering involved, right? But at least we'll be able to pick up a really nifty Miracle Bra and a fishing pole once we finally get there. Those Krafts, they think of everything. MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com