New England Patriots - NESN.com
NORWOOD, Mass. — The Patriots haven’t exactly developed goodwill with players’ families in recent years, with things coming to a tipping point last offseason.
New England received one of the worst grades possible in the NFLPA’s survey in 2024, with the treatment of families (F-), weight room (F) and locker room accommodations (C-) becoming popular sticking points for the players. Patriots owner Robert Kraft later announced the organization would build a stand-alone facility to fix those issues — but something left unaddressed was whether or not it will contain a family area.
Andressa Jones was unaware of the news because she was busy taking matters into her own hands.
Andressa, the wife of cornerback Jonathan Jones, opened an indoor playground called “Joyville” in Norwood, Mass. on Sunday — serving as a place for families of all backgrounds to congregate.
“We live in Charlotte, N.C. and there’s so many of these down south,” Andressa told NESN.com on Saturday. “When we’re living here during the football season, there isn’t much to do with kids under the age of eight, right? Jon was like, ‘Oh, why do you look into commercial spaces?… He kind of gave me the idea to open one here, so we made it happen.”
“Joyville” is designed to give toddlers and young children a safe space to play indoors, which is especially important in the frigid months of football season. Andressa does have a couple rules, though, one of which requires everyone to take their shoes off while entering the play area — even if you have a pair of Super Bowl rings.
“I looked at a lot of different prices, different towns. I knew I wanted Norwood or Dedham because they’re close to Foxboro — the surrounding towns have a lot of kids and families here, really good demographics and then there isn’t a lot in this area, right?” Andressa said. “We have sports, but this is a place where parents can come, sit back and watch their kids play knowing that they’re safe. You can see everything, we have cameras everywhere, gates everywhere. We try to make it a safe space for the kids.”
It’s not just some commercial spot opened by a football player, either. Andressa is the founder, owner and operator — making sure to let all customers know it is a mom-owned space.
“We have diaper genies in the bathroom, changing tables, extra products. Moms are always like, ‘That’s so cool! We don’t get that everywhere, changing tables that aren’t made of plastic?'” Andressa said. “It’s the things that moms notice, they know a mom created the space. It’s the little details like that.”
The Jones’ are hoping to open more spaces, whether that be in New England or their offseason home of Charlotte, N.C.
Jonathan is entering free agency, which means he could be calling another area home next football season. New England will still have a unique spot in the family’s hearts, though, with the business further cementing the roots they’ve planted...
