The most noticeable change is no more glare on the ice from the lights
Bruins give thumbs up to new lighting in TD Garden as...
When playing conditions are below standard, players aren’t afraid to speak their minds, especially when it comes to the ice surface, or the brightness of the 31 arenas in the league. And the lights inside TD Garden used to be something opposing players said could be better.
And when the Bruins hosted the Washington Capitals on Sunday afternoon in the first preseason game of the season at TD Garden, it was evident how much brighter it was inside the arena.
Along with arenas in San Jose, Dallas, Tampa and Colorado, TD Garden added LED lighting in the offseason. In an era of advanced analytics, a brighter ice surface will make a huge difference for the players, fans watching in person and on television, and will help marketing and sponsorships.
Bruins captain Zdeno Chara said the changes were obvious as soon as the players took the ice.
“I noticed right away during the warmup,” he said. “It’s much brighter. It can definitely improve the quality of the overall environment, whether you look at it from a player’s perspective, or from a marketing standpoint. It also helps the team photographers to get higher quality pictures. The fans will get way better visuals. It was much brighter, much better.”
The Bruins’ parent company, Delaware North, along with Boston Properties, is in the midst of a massive development on the site of the former Boston Garden on Causeway Street, which is being called “The Hub on Causeway.” CEO Charlie Jacobs recently said the entire project should be completed in the next year, but the current goal is to have the new front entrance to TD Garden open for the first home game on Oct. 8.