FOXBORO - New York and Boston. Oil and water.

When it comes to sports, they just don't mix.

Or, when the do, they mix it up - off the field as well as on.

The New England Patriots face the New York Jets in Gillette Stadium Sunday, and if the last three years is any indication, police officers detailed to keep the peace will earn their keep.

During the 2006 Pats-Jets matchup, local police had only 10 custodies, Police Chief Edward O'Leary said. In 2007, the figure more than doubled, to 22 custodies. Last year, the figure more than doubled again, to 55 custodies. "The staff knows it's a working game," O'Leary said of the match. "It's not a game where nothing's going to happen."

Kickoff is set for 4:15 p.m. Stadium parking lots open at noon, gates at 2:15 p.m.

"Late-afternoon games present a unique challenge," said O'Leary, who expects attendance to near 70,000 Sunday. "One issue is the high rate of intoxication because people show up at noon, and it's easier to drink all afternoon."

He also says that the Jets have a strong fan base in the region, resulting in the possibility of more confrontations.

One of the more demanding rivalries for security personnel comes at a time the Kraft Group and the town are trying to work out differences on security levels.

Town Manager Andrew Gala and O'Leary said progress has been made in the town's private talks with Kraft Group leaders concerning the number and location of police details assigned at Gillette Stadium events.

The sides held a third meeting Thursday in the stadium's administrative offices.

Selectmen chairman Paul Feeney has been involved in those talks.

"The police chief and stadium personnel have agreed in the past that New York Jets games present additional challenges for public safety personnel," Feeney said. "It is my understanding that the chief will continue to staff each event, including this Sunday's game, as he deems appropriate."

After Sunday's game, as in the past, the town will pay the officers and the police department will send a detailed invoice to stadium management for reimbursement. Feeney said O'Leary, with selectmen's support, is developing a final detail officer deployment model that can be used for years to come, to keep patrons and personnel safe.

He expressed a hope that the meetings with stadium security chief Mark Briggs and other Kraft Group leaders will "lead to a greater understanding by stadium management of the chief's deployment plan to minimize any conflicts going forward."

"I pushed hard, since becoming chairman, for a comprehensive public safety deployment template that minimizes Foxboro's level of risk," Feeney said. "The chief has delivered. I am confident that all sides will agree in the end that while the process was tempestuous, the results are imperative."