Features

TD Garden details wide-ranging renovation plans

TD Garden, home of NBA basketball team the Boston Celtics and NHL ice hockey franchise the Boston Bruins, is undergoing extensive renovation work worth $100m (£77.5m/€88.8m) over the next two years.

Details of the wide-scale expansion of the arena, which opened in 1995, have been announced by hospitality company Delaware North, owner and operator of the venue.

The private investment by the Jacobs family will provide a combined 50,000 square feet of additional space on all levels of the arena. It is hoped the expansion, which has been dubbed the ‘Legendary Transformation’, will significantly enhance the fan experience for generations to come.

The original site of the former Boston Garden now serves as the home of The Hub on Causeway, which will act as the new front door to TD Garden. The first phase of The Hub on Causeway, a joint venture between Delaware North and Boston Properties, is now complete and is scheduled to become operational on December 1.

A new underground pedestrian tunnel located beneath Causeway Street is also due to open to the public next month, while the expanded North Station Garage is already open. TD Garden has also introduced the ‘Boston Garden Society’, a social club that the arena said signifies Boston’s “unique role as a hub of sports”.

In what is said to be a first in an arena setting, TD Garden will introduce an integrated smart technology elevator system. From this season, Boston Garden Society members will be the first to sample the “street-to-seat” experience. Six new Destination Dispatch elevators will enable members to scan their ticket at private entrances, bypassing the main turnstile entrance for a streamlined and efficient entry direct to their seat.

Additionally, a new membership-based party deck entitled The Rafters will be located on the top floor of the arena, giving fans and concertgoers an overview of the court, stage or ice. Rafter Studios will also be added, providing private spaces for groups between 20 and 200.

Other features include The Back Row Bar, which will be located just behind the last-row balcony seats; the expansion of level 4 loge and level 7 balcony concourses by a combined 15,000 square feet; the all-new 1928 Club; a Premium Bar and Grille space; new team locker rooms for the Bruins and Celtics; and new arena bowl seats to replace many that remain from the original installation.

“The whole idea is to improve the guest experience,” TD Garden president Amy Latimer said, according to the Boston Globe newspaper. “We don’t control the content, the game, but we can control everything around that experience to make sure people have a good time.”

Latimer added: “If you’re coming to the game and want to get something great to eat, we want you to come in and do it here. We have to create environments that make that easy.”

TD Garden has also partnered with carbonhouse to create a new mobile-friendly website, www.TDGarden.com. The website features a homepage intro panel to showcase events and updates on renovations, as well as address customer questions.

Image: TD Garden