The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The Patriots play home games at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Founded in 1959 as the Boston Patriots, the team was a charter member of the American Football League (AFL) before joining the NFL in 1970 through the AFL–NFL merger. The Patriots played their home games at various stadiums throughout Boston until the franchise moved to Foxborough in 1971. As part of the move, the team changed its name to the New England Patriots. Home games were played at Foxboro Stadium until 2002 when the stadium was demolished alongside the opening of Gillette Stadium. The team began utilizing Gillette Stadium for home games the same year. The Patriots hold the records for most Super Bowl wins, appearances, and losses. Generally unsuccessful prior to the 21st century, the franchise enjoyed a period of dominance from 2001 to 2019. Other NFL records held by the franchise include the most playoff wins, the most wins in a 10-year period, the longest winning streak of regular season and playoff games, the most consecutive winning seasons, the most consecutive conference championship appearances, the most consecutive division titles, the only undefeated 16-game regular season (2007), and the highest postseason winning percentage.