The Athletic ranks all 31 NHL arenas
NHL arena rankings: The best and worst places to see a game, as rated by fans
20. Boston (TD Garden): 7.63
Atmosphere: 8.28 (17th)
Sight lines: 8.29 (27th)
Food options: 6.6 (25th)
Convenience: 7.09 (24th)
Location: 8.64 (10th)
Appearance: 7.53 (22nd)
Unique touches: 6.96 (18th)
“It ain’t the old Gahden, but it does the job.”
“There is no option about the seats. The new seats are so small, nothing else matters, going to a Bruins game sucks.”
“TD Garden is a perfectly adequate building for hockey. If you remove the team, its history, and the tribal intensity of its fanbase, it would be just another arena. When it comes to accessibility, it’s half-10, half-0, because one of the public transit options will drop you off literally beneath the ice surface, and the subway stops right across the street, but you’re absolutely out of your mind if you want to drive in and park there. There is no bad seat in the house as far as sight lines, which is a big plus. I gave it a 4 in ‘unique touches’ in honor of Bobby Orr, whose flying statue sits outside the doors, but also because other than Bobby and the many, many banners both the Bruins and Celtics have accrued, there’s nothing super special about the building itself.”
“Great arena with plenty of nostalgic touches. Good food and drink. Not cheap, but nothing in the area is. Made some nice upgrades recently. Would get 10 for area bars if The Fours hadn’t closed.”
“While the Jacobs have improved many aspects of the Garden, losing The Fours automatically knocks an already marginal bar scene down a notch. The arena does a nice job with the in game stuff, but it’s not all that dissimilar from what I’ve seen in other places. The Garden has a solid showing, but there’s nothing really exceptional there. They make good use of the Bruins history, which is a solid move.”
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NHL arena rankings: The best and worst places to see a game, as rated by fans
20. Boston (TD Garden): 7.63
Atmosphere: 8.28 (17th)
Sight lines: 8.29 (27th)
Food options: 6.6 (25th)
Convenience: 7.09 (24th)
Location: 8.64 (10th)
Appearance: 7.53 (22nd)
Unique touches: 6.96 (18th)
“It ain’t the old Gahden, but it does the job.”
“There is no option about the seats. The new seats are so small, nothing else matters, going to a Bruins game sucks.”
“TD Garden is a perfectly adequate building for hockey. If you remove the team, its history, and the tribal intensity of its fanbase, it would be just another arena. When it comes to accessibility, it’s half-10, half-0, because one of the public transit options will drop you off literally beneath the ice surface, and the subway stops right across the street, but you’re absolutely out of your mind if you want to drive in and park there. There is no bad seat in the house as far as sight lines, which is a big plus. I gave it a 4 in ‘unique touches’ in honor of Bobby Orr, whose flying statue sits outside the doors, but also because other than Bobby and the many, many banners both the Bruins and Celtics have accrued, there’s nothing super special about the building itself.”
“Great arena with plenty of nostalgic touches. Good food and drink. Not cheap, but nothing in the area is. Made some nice upgrades recently. Would get 10 for area bars if The Fours hadn’t closed.”
“While the Jacobs have improved many aspects of the Garden, losing The Fours automatically knocks an already marginal bar scene down a notch. The arena does a nice job with the in game stuff, but it’s not all that dissimilar from what I’ve seen in other places. The Garden has a solid showing, but there’s nothing really exceptional there. They make good use of the Bruins history, which is a solid move.”
| ARENA | ATMOSPHERE | SIGHT LINES | FOOD OPTIONS | CONVENIENCE | LOCATION | APPEARANCE | UNIQUE TOUCHES | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vegas (T-Mobile Arena) | 9.82 | 9.51 | 8.47 | 8.46 | 9.79 | 9.6 | 9.5 | 9.3 |
| Montreal (Bell Centre) | 9.64 | 9.17 | 7.78 | 8.29 | 9.46 | 8.5 | 9.35 | 8.88 |
| Nashville (Bridgestone Arena) | 9.46 | 8.95 | 8 | 7.85 | 9.79 | 8.88 | 8.83 | 8.82 |
| Tampa Bay (Amalie Arena) | 9.29 | 9.16 | 8.14 | 7.98 | 8.17 | 9.24 | 9.08 | 8.73 |
| Minnesota (Xcel Energy Center) | 8.58 | 9.48 | 7.9 | 7.94 | 8.67 | 9.11 | 8.29 | 8.57 |
| NY Rangers (Madison Square Garden) | 8.54 | 8.31 | 8.12 | 8.78 | 9.27 | 8.73 | 8.13 | 8.56 |
| Columbus (Nationwide Arena) | 8.28 | 9.15 | 7.41 | 8.45 | 9 | 8.93 | 8.56 | 8.54 |
| Edmonton (Rogers Place) | 7.64 | 9.05 | 7.3 | 8.15 | 8.59 | 9.13 | 7.55 | 8.2 |
| Detroit (Little Caesars Arena) | 7.15 | 8.81 | 8.49 | 7.44 | 7.82 | 9.05 | 8.18 | 8.14 |
| Dallas (American Airlines Center) | 8.33 | 8.85 | 7.23 | 7.97 | 7.99 | 8.57 | 7.52 | 8.07 |
| San Jose (SAP Center) | 8.64 | 8.66 | 7.54 | 7.89 | 7.78 | 7.59 | 7.74 | 7.98 |
| Los Angeles (Staples Center) | 7.9 | 8.49 | 7.39 | 7.04 | 8.68 | 8.51 | 7.72 | 7.96 |
| Washington (Capital One Arena) | 8.66 | 8.48 | 6.54 | 8.54 | 9.11 | 7.61 | 6.45 | 7.92 |
| Chicago (United Center) | 8.95 | 8.63 | 7.73 | 7.19 | 5.7 | 8.01 | 8.55 | 7.82 |
| St. Louis (Enterprise Center) | 8.51 | 8.9 | 7.7 | 7.24 | 6.13 | 8.13 | 8.12 | 7.82 |
| Pittsburgh (PPG Paints Arena) | 7.54 | 9.08 | 8 | 7.06 | 6.85 | 8.62 | 7.47 | 7.8 |
| New Jersey (Prudential Center) | 7.47 | 9.09 | 7.51 | 8.14 | 6.2 | 8.47 | 7.6 | 7.78 |
| Winnipeg (Bell MTS Place) | 8.89 | 8.95 | 6.64 | 7.53 | 8.02 | 7.74 | 6.44 | 7.74 |
| Philadelphia (Wells Fargo Center) | 8.47 | 8.58 | 7.76 | 7.8 | 6.28 | 7.57 | 7.46 | 7.7 |
| Boston (TD Garden) | 8.28 | 8.29 | 6.6 | 7.09 | 8.64 | 7.53 | 6.96 | 7.63 |
| Vancouver (Rogers Arena) | 6.53 | 8.71 | 7.19 | 8.19 | 8.5 | 7.24 | 6.25 | 7.52 |
| Colorado (Ball Arena) | 7.65 | 8.58 | 6.52 | 7.76 | 7.44 | 7.81 | 6.3 | 7.44 |
| Toronto (Scotiabank Arena) | 5.71 | 8.13 | 7 | 8.18 | 8.97 | 7.47 | 6.56 | 7.43 |
| Carolina (PNC Arena) | 8.38 | 8.7 | 7.01 | 7.33 | 4.06 | 7.24 | 6.89 | 7.09 |
| Anaheim (Honda Center) | 6.14 | 8.66 | 6.93 | 7.68 | 5.88 | 7.62 | 5.76 | 6.95 |
| Arizona (Gila River Arena) | 5.96 | 8.39 | 6.7 | 6.78 | 6.7 | 7.37 | 4.87 | 6.68 |
| Florida (BB&T Center) | 5.3 | 8.55 | 6.79 | 7.44 | 4.81 | 7.21 | 4.88 | 6.43 |
| NY Islanders (Nassau Coliseum) | 9.5 | 9.32 | 4.48 | 6.14 | 4.68 | 4.92 | 5.84 | 6.41 |
| Calgary (Scotiabank Saddledome) | 7.14 | 6.8 | 5.23 | 6.35 | 5.67 | 5 | 6.13 | 6.05 |
| Buffalo (KeyBank Center) | 5.14 | 7.82 | 5.76 | 7.05 | 7.03 | 4.83 | 4.39 | 6 |
| Ottawa (Canadian Tire Centre) | 5.35 | 8.2 | 5.83 | 3.31 | 2.18 | 5.53 | 3.82 | 4.89 |
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