The New England Patriots will host two days of joint practice sessions with the New York Giants beginning with an afternoon practice on Tuesday, Aug. 7 and both morning and afternoon practices on Wednesday, Aug. 8.

While general Patriots practice sessions at training camp are free and open to the public beginning Thursday, July 26, the joint practice sessions with the Giants will be a pass-only event to prevent the potential for public safety problems that could result from overcrowding due to the limited on-site parking.

"It is unfortunate that we cannot accommodate every fan who wants to attend these practices," Patriots Chief Operating Officer Andy Wasynczuk said. "We realize that there is tremendous interest in both the Patriots and the New York Giants in this region. As a result, it is impossible to accurately gauge the number of fans who will attend each session without implementing some pass-only access restraints. The public safety concerns for our hosts at Bryant College and the safety and enjoyment of all the fans who attend the practices are our primary concern."

Only Patriots season ticket holders and fans on the season ticket waiting list will be eligible for passes by registering on-line on the team's web site at www.patriots.com. All entries must be registered by Sunday, July 29 at 5:00 p.m. A limited number of entrants will be randomly selected to receive passes, which will be mailed the first week of August. Each pass will provide access to one car with no more than eight passengers per vehicle. Buses and RVs will not be permitted.

"In recent years, we have invited our season ticket holders to attend exclusive events as a reward for their loyalty and continued patronage," Wasynczuk said. "This is another opportunity for the team to extend our thanks to our season ticket holders."

In an effort to accommodate the many fans who have an interest in watching these practices but don't receive passes to attend in person, the Patriots will webcast the practice sessions on the team web site at www.patriots.com. It will be the first time a Patriots practice session has ever been accessible to fans over the Internet.