TD Banknorth Garden
Encyclopedia
TD Garden is a multi-purpose arena
in Boston, Massachusetts. It is named after its sponsor, TD Bank, N.A. and is often simply referred to by local Bostonians as, The Garden, The Fleet Center, or the traditional Boston Garden. It was formerly known as the FleetCenter and the Shawmut Center (title sponsor Shawmut Bank was bought by FleetBoston Financial
before the arena opened). TD Bank, N.A. has been in control of the arena's naming rights since 2005, with the arena called TD Banknorth
Garden until July 16, 2009, when the TD Banknorth name ceased to exist.
TD Garden is the home arena for the Boston Bruins
of the National Hockey League
and the Boston Celtics
of the National Basketball Association
. It is the site of the annual Beanpot college hockey tournament, and hosts the annual Hockey East
Championships. The arena has also hosted many major national sporting events including the 1999, 2003, and 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball regional first and second rounds, the 2009 Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight, the 2004 Frozen Four, and the 2006 Women's Final Four
. It also hosted the home games of the 2008 NBA Finals
, 2010 NBA Finals
, and the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals
for the Celtics and Bruins, respectively.
, which had been considered inadequate as a major league sports facility for many years. Plans for the new stadium stated that it would be slightly north of the old facility. The term "slightly north" ended up meaning that there was only nine inches (23 cm) of space between the two buildings when construction was completed. The site for the new stadium occupied 3.2 acres (12,950 m²). It eventually cost $160 million. Ground was broken on April 29, 1993. In 27 months, quick by today's standards, the stadium was built. That included seven weeks of delay caused by heavy snowfall. The Shawmut Center opened on September 30, 1995.
team and the Boston Bruins hockey
team, the arena was called the FleetCenter. The arena opened on September 30, 1995.
During the construction phase, the naming rights to the "New Garden" were sold to a major Boston-based regional bank, Shawmut Bank. However, just as the Shawmut Center was being completed, Shawmut merged with its somewhat larger rival, the Providence-based Fleet Bank. The merger was negotiated in secret while Shawmut and Fleet's marketing departments were simultaneously engaged in a spirited bidding war for the arena's naming rights. The post-merger bank had effectively been bidding against itself. The bank which won the competition for the "New Garden's" naming rights, Shawmut, was the bank whose name disappeared during the merger. Shortly before the new arena opened, every seat, which had been stamped with the Shawmut logo, had to be replaced. Also, the entire color scheme for the interior had to be adjusted.
The name of the arena was expected to change as a result of the April 1, 2004 merger of FleetBoston Financial
with Bank of America
. On January 5, 2005, FleetCenter's owner, Delaware North Companies
, announced an agreement under which the bank made a payment to be released from the remaining six years on the naming rights
agreement. The agreement left Delaware North free to sell the naming rights to another sponsor. On March 3, 2005, Maine-based TD Banknorth
, a U.S. subsidiary of Toronto-Dominion Bank
, announced its purchase of the naming rights for $6 million per year. The first major event after the announcement was the 2005 Hockey East
men's tournament.
The company named the facility "TD Banknorth Garden" in honor of the original Boston Garden. The name officially became the TD Banknorth Garden on July 1, 2005. Prior to that date, it went under the name "YourGarden."
In early 2005, while still searching for a long-term corporate sponsor, the FleetCenter conducted auctions on eBay
to sell one-day naming rights. From February 10 to March 13, the FleetCenter sold the naming rights 30 different times on eBay. The net proceeds of $150,633.22 generated during the auction was donated to charities in the Greater Boston area, and $40,000 worth of My Grandma's Coffee Cakes was donated to local food banks. The FleetCenter also made private arrangements with a few companies for one-day naming rights, and offered one day's rights in an employee raffle
.
During the name auction, only twice were names reported to be rejected. Kerry Konrad, a New York City
lawyer and Yankees
fan, won naming rights for March 1 with a bid of $2300. He proposed the name "Derek Jeter Center," after the New York Yankees
shortstop
, a stab at fellow Harvard College
alum and Boston Red Sox
fan Jerry Rappaport, Jr., with whom he had a 25 year-old rivalry. Being in the heart of Red Sox Nation
, the name did not sit well with the executives and was rejected. An agreement was reached in which Rappaport added $6300 for a total bid of $8600, representing the 86 years of the Curse of the Bambino
, and named the arena "New Boston Garden, Home of The Jimmy Fund Champions."
Fark.com
founder Drew Curtis
held a contest on his website to name the arena after he bought single-day rights. A user vote resulted in the "Fark.com UFIA Center" coming on top, but the name was rejected due to its inappropriate meaning. The name eventually selected by Curtis and company was "Boston Garden
".
In April 2008, TD Banknorth
became TD Bank, after a merger with Commerce Bancorp
, a New Jersey–based bank. Owner Delaware North Companies announced on April 15, 2009, that the building would be renamed TD Garden in July 2009.
entertainment board (from Daktronics
). For basketball, video advertising panels (installed by the NCAA for the 2006 Women's Final Four) replaced the traditional scrolling panels, and added a see-through shot clock (also from Daktronics), joining the FedExForum
, Wachovia Center
, Philips Arena
, US Airways Center
, United Center
, Quicken Loans Arena
, and the Time Warner Cable Arena. In addition, for hockey, a vintage siren
was added to replace the end-of-period horn, although the latter is still used for basketball.
The arena is primarily the home arena for the NHL
's Boston Bruins
and the NBA
's Boston Celtics
. The facility has also hosted the 2001 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, the 1996 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
, the 1996 and 2000 US Gymnastics Trials, the 1998 and 2004 NCAA Men's Frozen Four, the 1996 NHL All-Star Game, the 2008
and 2010 NBA Finals
, and the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals
.
TD Garden is one of two NBA arenas (along with Amway Center, home of the Orlando Magic
) with parquet
floors. The Celtics are best known for the tradition of the parquet floor, originally built after World War II
because of cost and the scarcity of lumber in that time. However, a traditional floor was used in the 2006 NCAA Women's Final Four
and the 2009 NCAA Men's East Regional
(NCAA rules require a special NCAA-specification floor be used for all tournament games).
Ricky Hatton
began his 'American dream' here on May 13, 2006, he stepped up to welterweight to fight WBA
world champion Luis Collazo
. After knocking Collazo down after seconds into the first round, Hatton was made to work hard to earn a unanimous point win.
It also hosts Commencement
exercises for Northeastern University.
It has hosted WWE's WrestleMania XIV
in 1998, as well as King of the Ring 2000
, Royal Rumble 2003
, SummerSlam 2006
, Survivor Series 2008
, and Royal Rumble 2011
. It has also been a regular stop for Monday Night Raw
and Friday Night SmackDown. On September 29, 2009, it taped A Decade of SmackDown, the tenth anniversary of Friday Night SmackDown. The WWE held the 900th episode of Monday Night Raw at the Garden on August 30, 2010. On November 14, 2011, the WWE hosted a 3 hour edition of Raw, entitled "Raw Gets Rocked," that featured the return of The Rock.
On August 28, 2010, the TD Garden hosted UFC 118
, which was the first time that the UFC held an event in Boston.
Diana Ross
was scheduled to perform during her Return to Love Tour
on July 13, 2000, but the show was canceled.
In 2001, U2
recorded four consecutive concerts there for use on their Elevation 2001: Live from Boston DVD.
David Bowie
was scheduled to perform during his A Reality Tour
on December 9, 2003, but the show was canceled, due to tour band illness. He returned and performed on March 30, 2004.
Fleetwood Mac
recorded and filmed their 2004 CD/DVD package Live in Boston
at this venue.
Bon Jovi
recorded his Walmart Exclusive CD Live From the Have A Nice Day Tour which was recorded December 10, 2005.
The Who
and Genesis
recorded live CDs as part of the Encore Series
in 2006 and 2007, respectively.
The filming of Celine Dion
's Taking Chances World Tour took place on August 12–13, 2008.
(also known as "The Sports Museum of New England"). The museum's exhibits focus on the history of various sports in the Boston area, including the Boston Bruins and the Boston Celtics.
Just as the Boston Garden
was, the TD Garden is built on top of Boston's North Station, a major transportation hub. The Commuter Rail
waiting area becomes crowded during events due to this design: the fans shared a relatively small area with commuters and several fast food concessions. (There is a concourse on the second floor which is about the same size as the former main ground floor concourse, but this is utilized only as an entryway for the arena.) Work finished on the expanded North Station concourse in early 2007. A new, larger, railway concourse gives railway passengers a waiting area which does not interfere with patrons entering or leaving the Garden.
Connections to the Orange Line
and Green Line
are near the eastern entrance to the Garden. The Green Line formerly ran on an elevated train
in front of the building: however, a Green Line tunnel was completed in 2004. (The original plan was to tear down the rail tracks before the 2004 Democratic National Convention
, but in the end the tracks were purposely left up through the convention, to serve as a platform for security forces.) The elevated rail has since been demolished.
Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
in Boston, Massachusetts. It is named after its sponsor, TD Bank, N.A. and is often simply referred to by local Bostonians as, The Garden, The Fleet Center, or the traditional Boston Garden. It was formerly known as the FleetCenter and the Shawmut Center (title sponsor Shawmut Bank was bought by FleetBoston Financial
FleetBoston Financial
FleetBoston Financial was a Boston, Massachusetts–based bank created in 1999 by the merger of Fleet Financial Group and BankBoston. In 2004 it merged with Bank of America; all of its banks and branches were given the Bank of America logo.-History:...
before the arena opened). TD Bank, N.A. has been in control of the arena's naming rights since 2005, with the arena called TD Banknorth
TD Banknorth
TD Banknorth, formerly just Banknorth, was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Toronto-Dominion Bank which conducted banking and insurance activities, primarily serving the northeastern area of the United States, headquartered in Portland, Maine...
Garden until July 16, 2009, when the TD Banknorth name ceased to exist.
TD Garden is the home arena for the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
and the Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
of the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
. It is the site of the annual Beanpot college hockey tournament, and hosts the annual Hockey East
Hockey East
Hockey East Association is a NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference....
Championships. The arena has also hosted many major national sporting events including the 1999, 2003, and 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball regional first and second rounds, the 2009 Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight, the 2004 Frozen Four, and the 2006 Women's Final Four
2006 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament
-Albuquerque:-Bridgeport:-San Antonio:-Cleveland Regional:-Albuquerque Regional:-Bridgeport Regional:-San Antonio Regional:-Final Four – TD Banknorth Garden :...
. It also hosted the home games of the 2008 NBA Finals
2008 NBA Finals
The 2008 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2007–08 NBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Boston Celtics, top-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference, four games to two in a...
, 2010 NBA Finals
2010 NBA Finals
The 2010 NBA Finals was the National Basketball Association championship series for the 2009–10 season. The best-of-seven playoff was contested between the Los Angeles Lakers, champions of the Western Conference and defending NBA champions, and the Boston Celtics, champions of the Eastern Conference...
, and the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals
2011 Stanley Cup Finals
The 2011 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League , and the culmination of the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was the 118th year of the Stanley Cup's presentation. The Eastern Conference Champion Boston Bruins defeated the Western Conference Champion Vancouver...
for the Celtics and Bruins, respectively.
Construction
Planners drew up designs for a new arena in the early 1990s after years of pressure on the owners of the Boston Bruins hockey club to replace the aging Boston GardenBoston Garden
The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928 as "Boston Madison Square Garden" and outlived its original namesake by some 30 years...
, which had been considered inadequate as a major league sports facility for many years. Plans for the new stadium stated that it would be slightly north of the old facility. The term "slightly north" ended up meaning that there was only nine inches (23 cm) of space between the two buildings when construction was completed. The site for the new stadium occupied 3.2 acres (12,950 m²). It eventually cost $160 million. Ground was broken on April 29, 1993. In 27 months, quick by today's standards, the stadium was built. That included seven weeks of delay caused by heavy snowfall. The Shawmut Center opened on September 30, 1995.
Naming
When constructed to replace the aging Boston Garden as the home of the Boston Celtics basketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team and the Boston Bruins hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team, the arena was called the FleetCenter. The arena opened on September 30, 1995.
During the construction phase, the naming rights to the "New Garden" were sold to a major Boston-based regional bank, Shawmut Bank. However, just as the Shawmut Center was being completed, Shawmut merged with its somewhat larger rival, the Providence-based Fleet Bank. The merger was negotiated in secret while Shawmut and Fleet's marketing departments were simultaneously engaged in a spirited bidding war for the arena's naming rights. The post-merger bank had effectively been bidding against itself. The bank which won the competition for the "New Garden's" naming rights, Shawmut, was the bank whose name disappeared during the merger. Shortly before the new arena opened, every seat, which had been stamped with the Shawmut logo, had to be replaced. Also, the entire color scheme for the interior had to be adjusted.
FleetBoston Financial
FleetBoston Financial was a Boston, Massachusetts–based bank created in 1999 by the merger of Fleet Financial Group and BankBoston. In 2004 it merged with Bank of America; all of its banks and branches were given the Bank of America logo.-History:...
with Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
. On January 5, 2005, FleetCenter's owner, Delaware North Companies
Delaware North Companies
Delaware North Companies is a global food service and hospitality company headquartered in Buffalo, New York The company operates in the lodging, sporting, airport, gaming and entertainment industries. The company employs over 50,000 people worldwide and has over $2 billion in annual revenues...
, announced an agreement under which the bank made a payment to be released from the remaining six years on the naming rights
Naming rights
In the private sector, naming rights are a financial transaction whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three...
agreement. The agreement left Delaware North free to sell the naming rights to another sponsor. On March 3, 2005, Maine-based TD Banknorth
TD Banknorth
TD Banknorth, formerly just Banknorth, was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Toronto-Dominion Bank which conducted banking and insurance activities, primarily serving the northeastern area of the United States, headquartered in Portland, Maine...
, a U.S. subsidiary of Toronto-Dominion Bank
Toronto-Dominion Bank
The Toronto-Dominion Bank , is the second-largest bank in Canada by market capitalization and based on assets. It is also the sixth largest bank in North America. Commonly known as TD and operating as TD Bank Group, the bank was created in 1955 through the merger of the Bank of Toronto and the...
, announced its purchase of the naming rights for $6 million per year. The first major event after the announcement was the 2005 Hockey East
Hockey East
Hockey East Association is a NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference....
men's tournament.
The company named the facility "TD Banknorth Garden" in honor of the original Boston Garden. The name officially became the TD Banknorth Garden on July 1, 2005. Prior to that date, it went under the name "YourGarden."
In early 2005, while still searching for a long-term corporate sponsor, the FleetCenter conducted auctions on eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
to sell one-day naming rights. From February 10 to March 13, the FleetCenter sold the naming rights 30 different times on eBay. The net proceeds of $150,633.22 generated during the auction was donated to charities in the Greater Boston area, and $40,000 worth of My Grandma's Coffee Cakes was donated to local food banks. The FleetCenter also made private arrangements with a few companies for one-day naming rights, and offered one day's rights in an employee raffle
Raffle
A raffle is a competition in which people obtain numbered tickets, each ticket having the chance of winning a prize. At a set time, the winners are drawn from a container holding a copy of every number...
.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
lawyer and Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
fan, won naming rights for March 1 with a bid of $2300. He proposed the name "Derek Jeter Center," after the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
, a stab at fellow Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
alum and Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
fan Jerry Rappaport, Jr., with whom he had a 25 year-old rivalry. Being in the heart of Red Sox Nation
Red Sox Nation
Red Sox Nation refers to the fans of the Boston Red Sox. The phrase "Red Sox Nation" was first coined by Boston Globe feature writer Nathan Cobb in an October 20, 1986, article about split allegiances among fans in Connecticut during the 1986 World Series between the Red Sox and the New York...
, the name did not sit well with the executives and was rejected. An agreement was reached in which Rappaport added $6300 for a total bid of $8600, representing the 86 years of the Curse of the Bambino
Curse of the Bambino
The Curse of the Bambino was a superstition cited as a reason for the failure of the Boston Red Sox baseball team to win the World Series in the 86-year period from 1918 to 2004...
, and named the arena "New Boston Garden, Home of The Jimmy Fund Champions."
Fark.com
Fark.com
Fark is a community website created by Drew Curtis that allows members to comment on a daily batch of news articles and other items from various websites. As of June 2009, the site boasts approximately four million unique visitors per month, which puts it among the top 100 English language websites...
founder Drew Curtis
Drew Curtis
Drew Curtis is the founder and an administrator of Fark.com, an Internet link dump site. He is also the author of It's Not News, It's FARK: How Mass Media Tries to Pass off Crap as News in May 2007.-Bio:...
held a contest on his website to name the arena after he bought single-day rights. A user vote resulted in the "Fark.com UFIA Center" coming on top, but the name was rejected due to its inappropriate meaning. The name eventually selected by Curtis and company was "Boston Garden
Boston Garden
The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928 as "Boston Madison Square Garden" and outlived its original namesake by some 30 years...
".
- Including its present name, the TD Garden has had 33 different names.
- Celtics players dubbed it "The Jungle" during the team's 2002 playoff run.
In April 2008, TD Banknorth
TD Banknorth
TD Banknorth, formerly just Banknorth, was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Toronto-Dominion Bank which conducted banking and insurance activities, primarily serving the northeastern area of the United States, headquartered in Portland, Maine...
became TD Bank, after a merger with Commerce Bancorp
Commerce Bancorp
TD Bank, N.A., is a national banking institution in the United States which offers banking, insurance, brokerage, and investment banking services in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina,...
, a New Jersey–based bank. Owner Delaware North Companies announced on April 15, 2009, that the building would be renamed TD Garden in July 2009.
Renovations
Before the 2006–07 season, the TD Garden underwent a major overhaul, installing a new HDHigh-definition video
High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...
entertainment board (from Daktronics
Daktronics
Daktronics is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video board, scoreboards, digital billboards and related products. The company is best known for its electronic LED displays...
). For basketball, video advertising panels (installed by the NCAA for the 2006 Women's Final Four) replaced the traditional scrolling panels, and added a see-through shot clock (also from Daktronics), joining the FedExForum
FedExForum
The FedEx Forum is an arena located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee. It is the home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA and the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of the University of Memphis, both of whom previously played home games at the Pyramid Arena...
, Wachovia Center
Wachovia Center
The Wells Fargo Center is an indoor arena located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
, Philips Arena
Philips Arena
Philips Arena is an indoor arena in Atlanta, Georgia.Completed in 1999 to replace The Omni, at a cost of $213.5 million, it is home to the Atlanta Hawks, of the National Basketball Association, and the Atlanta Dream, of the Women's National Basketball Association...
, US Airways Center
US Airways Center
US Airways Center is a sports and entertainment arena located in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It opened in 1992, and is the home of the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association, the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association, and the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena...
, United Center
United Center
The United Center is an indoor sports arena located in Chicago. It is named after its corporate sponsor, United Airlines. The United Center is home to both the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League...
, Quicken Loans Arena
Quicken Loans Arena
Quicken Loans Arena , is a multi-purpose arena, in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States....
, and the Time Warner Cable Arena. In addition, for hockey, a vintage siren
Siren (noisemaker)
A siren is a loud noise making device. Most modern ones are civil defense or air raid sirens, tornado sirens, or the sirens on emergency service vehicles such as ambulances, police cars and fire trucks. There are two general types: pneumatic and electronic....
was added to replace the end-of-period horn, although the latter is still used for basketball.
Sports
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
's Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
and the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
's Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
. The facility has also hosted the 2001 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, the 1996 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
1996 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
The 1996 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was the 20th edition of the World Junior Ice Hockey Championship, hosted in Massachusetts...
, the 1996 and 2000 US Gymnastics Trials, the 1998 and 2004 NCAA Men's Frozen Four, the 1996 NHL All-Star Game, the 2008
2008 NBA Finals
The 2008 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2007–08 NBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Boston Celtics, top-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference, four games to two in a...
and 2010 NBA Finals
2010 NBA Finals
The 2010 NBA Finals was the National Basketball Association championship series for the 2009–10 season. The best-of-seven playoff was contested between the Los Angeles Lakers, champions of the Western Conference and defending NBA champions, and the Boston Celtics, champions of the Eastern Conference...
, and the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals
2011 Stanley Cup Finals
The 2011 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League , and the culmination of the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was the 118th year of the Stanley Cup's presentation. The Eastern Conference Champion Boston Bruins defeated the Western Conference Champion Vancouver...
.
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...
) with parquet
Parquetry
Parquetry is a geometric mosaic of wood pieces used for decorative effect. The two main uses of parquetry are as veneer patterns on furniture and block patterns for flooring. Parquet patterns are entirely geometrical and angular—squares, triangles, lozenges. The most popular parquet flooring...
floors. The Celtics are best known for the tradition of the parquet floor, originally built after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
because of cost and the scarcity of lumber in that time. However, a traditional floor was used in the 2006 NCAA Women's Final Four
2006 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament
-Albuquerque:-Bridgeport:-San Antonio:-Cleveland Regional:-Albuquerque Regional:-Bridgeport Regional:-San Antonio Regional:-Final Four – TD Banknorth Garden :...
and the 2009 NCAA Men's East Regional
2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The first and second round games were played at the following sites:First and Second Rounds: Thursday and Saturday, March 19 and 21, 2009-Qualifying teams:-Brackets:Results to date * – Denotes overtime periodAll times in U.S. EDT....
(NCAA rules require a special NCAA-specification floor be used for all tournament games).
Ricky Hatton
Ricky Hatton
Richard John Hatton MBE, more commonly known as Ricky "the Hitman" Hatton, , is a former British professional boxer, and currently a promoter....
began his 'American dream' here on May 13, 2006, he stepped up to welterweight to fight WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
world champion Luis Collazo
Luis Collazo
Luis Collazo is a boxer in the welterweight division. His boxing record is 31-4 . He is a former WBA welterweight champion.- Professional career :...
. After knocking Collazo down after seconds into the first round, Hatton was made to work hard to earn a unanimous point win.
Other events
Commencement
Commencement may refer to:* Graduation, the ceremony at which students receive academic degrees** Commencement speech* "Commencement" * Commencement , by Deadsy* Commencement, a novel by J...
exercises for Northeastern University.
It has hosted WWE's WrestleMania XIV
WrestleMania XIV
WrestleMania XIV was the fourteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation , which took place on March 29, 1998 at the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts....
in 1998, as well as King of the Ring 2000
King of the Ring (2000)
King of the Ring was the eighth annual King of the Ring professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Federation...
, Royal Rumble 2003
Royal Rumble (2003)
Royal Rumble was the sixteenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . The event took place on January 19, 2003 at the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts...
, SummerSlam 2006
SummerSlam (2006)
SummerSlam was the nineteenth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on August 20, 2006 at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, and featured performers from the Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brands...
, Survivor Series 2008
Survivor Series (2008)
Survivor Series was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , took place on November 23, 2008 at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts The Survivor Series was in Boston 15 years prior in 1993 in the now-demolished Boston Garden...
, and Royal Rumble 2011
Royal Rumble (2011)
Royal Rumble was the 24th annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on January 30, 2011 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts....
. It has also been a regular stop for Monday Night Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
and Friday Night SmackDown. On September 29, 2009, it taped A Decade of SmackDown, the tenth anniversary of Friday Night SmackDown. The WWE held the 900th episode of Monday Night Raw at the Garden on August 30, 2010. On November 14, 2011, the WWE hosted a 3 hour edition of Raw, entitled "Raw Gets Rocked," that featured the return of The Rock.
On August 28, 2010, the TD Garden hosted UFC 118
UFC 118
UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 28, 2010 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The third UFC Fan Expo coincided with the event...
, which was the first time that the UFC held an event in Boston.
Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
was scheduled to perform during her Return to Love Tour
Return to Love Tour
"The Return to Love Tour" is a 2000 concert tour by American singing group Diana Ross and the Supremes.-Origins:In 1999, Diana Ross released her final album on Motown Records, "Every Day is a New Day"...
on July 13, 2000, but the show was canceled.
In 2001, U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
recorded four consecutive concerts there for use on their Elevation 2001: Live from Boston DVD.
David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
was scheduled to perform during his A Reality Tour
A Reality Tour
A Reality Tour was a worldwide concert tour by David Bowie in support of the Reality album. The tour commenced on 7 October 2003 at the Forum, Copenhagen, Denmark continuing through Europe, North America, Asia, including a return to New Zealand and Australia for the first time since the 1987 Glass...
on December 9, 2003, but the show was canceled, due to tour band illness. He returned and performed on March 30, 2004.
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
recorded and filmed their 2004 CD/DVD package Live in Boston
Live In Boston (2004)
Live in Boston is a live performance by the band Fleetwood Mac, released June 15, 2004. The concert was filmed September 23 and 24, 2003 at the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts during the group's Say You Will Tour...
at this venue.
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
recorded his Walmart Exclusive CD Live From the Have A Nice Day Tour which was recorded December 10, 2005.
The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
and Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
recorded live CDs as part of the Encore Series
Encore Series
The Encore Series are concert recordings developed initially in 2002 through a partnership between The Who and . The series was created as a type of legal bootleg of major artists' complete concert tours. Each series is authorised by the artists, and recorded directly from the artists' sound board...
in 2006 and 2007, respectively.
The filming of Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
's Taking Chances World Tour took place on August 12–13, 2008.
Museum
Located in TD Garden is The Sports MuseumThe Sports Museum
The Sports Museum is a non-profit museum currently located in the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts....
(also known as "The Sports Museum of New England"). The museum's exhibits focus on the history of various sports in the Boston area, including the Boston Bruins and the Boston Celtics.
Facilities
Boston Garden
The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928 as "Boston Madison Square Garden" and outlived its original namesake by some 30 years...
was, the TD Garden is built on top of Boston's North Station, a major transportation hub. The Commuter Rail
MBTA Commuter Rail
The MBTA Commuter Rail serves as the regional rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, in the United States. It is operated under contract by the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company a joint partnership of Veolia Transportation, Bombardier Transportation and Alternate...
waiting area becomes crowded during events due to this design: the fans shared a relatively small area with commuters and several fast food concessions. (There is a concourse on the second floor which is about the same size as the former main ground floor concourse, but this is utilized only as an entryway for the arena.) Work finished on the expanded North Station concourse in early 2007. A new, larger, railway concourse gives railway passengers a waiting area which does not interfere with patrons entering or leaving the Garden.
Connections to the Orange Line
Orange Line (MBTA)
The Orange Line is one of the four subway lines of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. It extends from Forest Hills in Jamaica Plain, Boston in the south to Oak Grove in Malden, Massachusetts in the north. It meets the Red Line at Downtown Crossing, the Blue Line at State, and the Green...
and Green Line
Green Line (MBTA)
The Green Line is a streetcar system run by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in the Boston, Massachusetts area of the United States. It is the oldest line of Boston's subway, which is known locally as the 'T'. The Green Line runs underground downtown and on the surface in outlying...
are near the eastern entrance to the Garden. The Green Line formerly ran on an elevated train
Causeway Street Elevated
The Causeway Street Elevated was a part of the MBTA's Green Line in Boston, Massachusetts that ran roughly northwards from Haymarket, then ran westwards for a short distance around the Boston Garden indoor sports venue's exterior through the Green Line's North Station stop, and resumed a...
in front of the building: however, a Green Line tunnel was completed in 2004. (The original plan was to tear down the rail tracks before the 2004 Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
, but in the end the tracks were purposely left up through the convention, to serve as a platform for security forces.) The elevated rail has since been demolished.
See also
- Boston GardenBoston GardenThe Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928 as "Boston Madison Square Garden" and outlived its original namesake by some 30 years...
- TD Bank Sports Center (Hamden, Connecticut)
- TD Bank Ballpark (Bridgewater, New Jersey)
- TD Ameritrade Park Omaha (Nebraska)
- Toronto Dominion Bank ArenaCarolina First ArenaThe Toronto Dominion Bank Arena is a 5,100 seat multi-purpose arena in Charleston, South Carolina, USA that opened in 2008 and replaced John Kresse Arena as the home of the College of Charleston Cougars basketball and volleyball teams...
(Charleston, South Carolina) - List of indoor arenas by capacity