Improvements to North Station and TD Garden taking shape

[wintersej]

At (I’ll toot my own horn and call it “a muscular”) 185 pounds, I don’t think the seats will bother me too much. But it’s honestly rather offensive that a supposed “upgrade” hyped up by the organization is actually just a screw job on the fans that have supported you with their hard earned money for years.

People have heard my ripping in big, corporate business enough but all I will say is that it’s a shame. Honestly, if people do really raise a stink about it, I could maybe see *some* type of impact or reaction needed from up top. Depending on your size, that’s not an issue that one gets used to.

Not to mention, even the less directly effected smaller people will have to deal with further encroachment from others.

Like I said...if people actually raise a fuss and make it enough of an embarrassment *maybe* there will be consequences, but I won’t hold my breath. As we all know, the people who take in the money generally don’t give a ****. Unless it involves *not* raking in the dough.

Even if I give up my tickets because the seats are too small... someone else will come grab them. Us hockey fans are basically drug addicts.

 

[PlayMakers]

Not a fan of the all black look, makes the arena look dark and the TV picture look fuzzy. Hoping it will grow on me.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

Not a fan of the all black look, makes the arena look dark and the TV picture look fuzzy. Hoping it will grow on me.

That overall aesthetic may be the one thing I don’t mind, even if takes away one of the few unique aspects of the Garden.

 

[Fenway]

 

[Smitty93]

Not a fan of the all black look, makes the arena look dark and the TV picture look fuzzy. Hoping it will grow on me.

I imagine that when the seats are full, which they weren't last night, it will be less noticeable.

 

[Fenway]

I imagine that when the seats are full, which they weren't last night, it will be less noticeable.

I will hold off criticizing until everything is finished in November.

Their #1 objective is getting the retail Hub of Causeway up and running.

They haven't announced what the new capacity will be but I have been told 18,300 for hockey and close to 19,000 for basketball.

The scoreboard is much clearer and I will accept for now that it will be larger next year once they know the seat lines of the new seats. The ice - it was close to 90 with high humidity yesterday which was complicated by the building not being sealed because of construction.

Let's be clear - TD Garden caters to the Level 5-6 crowd and now the new seats in Level 9 and the bar on Level 8. The Red Sox and Patriots do the same.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

I will hold off criticizing until everything is finished in November.

Their #1 objective is getting the retail Hub of Causeway up and running.

They haven't announced what the new capacity will be but I have been told 18,300 for hockey and close to 19,000 for basketball.

The scoreboard is much clearer and I will accept for now that it will be larger next year once they know the seat lines of the new seats. The ice - it was close to 90 with high humidity yesterday which was complicated by the building not being sealed because of construction.

Let's be clear - TD Garden caters to the Level 5-6 crowd and now the new seats in Level 9 and the bar on Level 8. The Red Sox and Patriots do the same.

What’s interesting to me is that sports entertainment, on the whole, wasn’t catering to the corporate world/elite among us until maybe the 1990’s. Before that, luxury boxes were barely a thing. If you look at modern European stadiums, they don’t have nearly the level of box seating that North American stadiums do. I am not sure if this is more a comment on the market changing or organizations themselves figuring out they were missing the mark on where to find the real money.

It certainly doesn’t benefit the majority of us who don’t have money to burn.

 

[wintersej]

What’s interesting to me is that sports entertainment, on the whole, wasn’t catering to the corporate world/elite among us until maybe the 1990’s. Before that, luxury boxes were barely a thing. If you look at modern European stadiums, they don’t have nearly the level of box seating that North American stadiums do. I am not sure if this is more a comment on the market changing or organizations themselves figuring out they were missing the mark on where to find the real money.

It certainly doesn’t benefit the majority of us who don’t have money to burn.

They are chasing the folks with the most extra dollars. And since the early 80s that has increasingly been the folks at the top.

 

[BruinsFanSince94]

They are chasing the folks with the most extra dollars. And since the early 80s that has increasingly been the folks at the top.

And this is why sporting events are now filled with morons who view the game as nothing more than a night out.

The experience as a true fan can be nauseating now. From people being on their phones more than actually watching the game, texting their friends and taking selfies to show they're At The Game!! To those brutal comments you'll hear behind you like "what inning is it???" Or "shoot the ball in the net". It sucks. True fans can rarely afford a regular season game. Playoffs are even worse. It sucks.

 

[Chief Nine]

Interesting since we’ve been glad that the Bruins (so far) haven’t changed the tunnel for the visitor’s bench to the corner or wherever, I never noticed that the NY Rangers don’t have a tunnel behind their bench.

 

[Donnie Shulzhoffer]

Interesting since we’ve been glad that the Bruins (so far) haven’t changed the tunnel for the visitor’s bench to the corner or wherever, I never noticed that the NY Rangers don’t have a tunnel behind their bench.

Does Montreal? Not sure

 

[Chief Nine]

Does Montreal? Not sure

The visitors have to cross the ice but the Habs have a massive tunnel right behind their bench. You can drive a truck through there

 

[Donnie Shulzhoffer]

The visitors have to cross the ice but the Habs have a massive tunnel right behind their bench. You can drive a truck through there

Ah right. Thanks

 

[member 96824]

What’s interesting to me is that sports entertainment, on the whole, wasn’t catering to the corporate world/elite among us until maybe the 1990’s. Before that, luxury boxes were barely a thing. If you look at modern European stadiums, they don’t have nearly the level of box seating that North American stadiums do. I am not sure if this is more a comment on the market changing or organizations themselves figuring out they were missing the mark on where to find the real money.

It certainly doesn’t benefit the majority of us who don’t have money to burn.

Take a step back and ask..who are the Bruins biggest competitors? It’s really a night out at a restaurant, movie, staying in, or now casino.

Netflix is a bigger competitor to the Boston Bruins than the Montreal Canadians are when it comes to the balance sheet and competition in eyeballs and experiences has never ever been higher and never been more expensive to try and capture

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

Take a step back and ask..who are the Bruins biggest competitors? It’s really a night out at a restaurant, movie, staying in, or now casino.

Netflix is a bigger competitor to the Boston Bruins than the Montreal Canadians are when it comes to the balance sheet and competition in eyeballs and experiences has never ever been higher.

That’s a very cool way to look at it.

As the years go by, as stadiums get bigger and more lavish, there is certainly more and more entertainment designed for those at the game who really aren’t immersed in the game.

Again, I like your perspective. Had never thought about it like that.

 

[Chief Nine]

Take a step back and ask..who are the Bruins biggest competitors? It’s really a night out at a restaurant, movie, staying in, or now casino.

Netflix is a bigger competitor to the Boston Bruins than the Montreal Canadians are when it comes to the balance sheet and competition in eyeballs and experiences has never ever been higher and never been more expensive to try and capture. Bigger ROI when you focus more on the big pockets and less on us in the lunatic fringe. Bruins aren’t just a charity for me to escape unfortunately

Very astute post. It’s very easy to paint everything as “corporate greed” and “selling out” when the reality is they have to fill an 18,000 seat arena at least 41 times a year with as many bodies as they can.

This is exactly why these teams are spending millions to enhance the “fan experience” and make it appealing to well heeled patrons.

It’s strictly business

 

[Morris Wanchuk]

I also don’t think it’s rich individual people buying up these expensive premium seats. It’s businesses that the team gets on the hook for multi year commitments. As soon as they build some new seating arrangement, they sell it out for three year leases which give them more consistent $$ than the season tickets. Though I do wonder with more and more ethics rules at companies who is going to be able to go to these corporate seats

 

[Fenway]

At Fenway - 100% of the new seats were built for higher-priced customers - At Gillette, the Putnam Club ( with access to the shortcut to 95) is geared for the wealthy.

 

[talkinaway]

I also don’t think it’s rich individual people buying up these expensive premium seats. It’s businesses that the team gets on the hook for multi year commitments. As soon as they build some new seating arrangement, they sell it out for three year leases which give them more consistent $$ than the season tickets. Though I do wonder with more and more ethics rules at companies who is going to be able to go to these corporate seats

This 1000x. I get all sorts of random marketing emails from the Bruins, and also check out their site occasionally. There's a lot of "seal your big deal and impress your clients while you're at the Garden" type of language in their advertising of the Premi^D^D^D^D^D Boston Garden Society. I don't know how much passes cost now, but a quick search in my email shows that a full season package fetched $25 per person per game just to get into Legends in 2014. Don't get me wrong; the place looks nice. They let STHs in for a watch party when we clinched the Cup Finals. And I'm sure the food's good. But I can't imagine it's $25-cover-chage-before-you-order good, unless you're being comped by a company.

 

[Johnnyduke]

If any of you follow Pete Blackburn on Twitter...that pic of the legroom in between seats is hilarious/frightening. Just a disaster waiting to happen.

My buddy went to preseason game and said they removed all cup holders. Is that true? Another idiotic move.

 

[JRull86]

If any of you follow Pete Blackburn on Twitter...that pic of the legroom in between seats is hilarious/frightening. Just a disaster waiting to happen.

My buddy went to preseason game and said they removed all cup holders. Is that true? Another idiotic move.

Seriously, what the hell is this?

Does the whole row have to get up in order to let someone in/out?

 

[Johnnyduke]

I am proud to say I am not overweight but even at my "normal" size that is a hard pass for me. Would never pay those prices for that experience.

 

[Therick67]

so they've managed to downgrade the comfort level, tremendous.

At least you can go to star market after the game..

 

[talkinaway]

Normally I’d be a little skeptical about that Blackburn pic - not because of the source, but just because camera angles can make things larger/smaller.

However, I can say without that those pics are fairly accurate. I’m pretty short, and have short legs - whenever I’m in the backseat of a car, the guy in front can move back as far as he wants with no problem. But I did plunk myself down in the loge on Monday, and yes, that’s accurate. I could sit comfortably, but there would hav been barely enough room to stick an iPhone between my knee and the seat. Here’s my pic:

One other complaint that will be relevant come next Thursday. They’re increasing capacity, but I don’t think any increase in bathroom capacity has been made. How’s that going to work? Plus, at least on the south end of the balcony, I think they took out some of the beer carts because of ongoing renovations. Lines are going to be WAY worse. Exiting after a game will be worse, too, with probably 500-1000 more people. (Number pulled out at random, but it seems right.)

I also wonder a bit about safety. Riots tend to happen in cities during hot summers, and for a reason: hot and crowded are two ingredients to get people testy. The “hot” part is obviously not relevant, but the more crowded people get, the less forgiving they’ll be of the various minor “slings and arrows” of daily interaction.

If you’re a STH, I’d write to your rep. If you’re thinking of going to a game, find contact info and write in expressing your concerns. It won’t do anything in the short term, but I’m sure they track this kind of stuff. It might accelerate the next renovation - I don’t mean next year, but it might make them think that this is a “5-10 year thing” rather than quasi-permanent 30-year seating. It may tell them that they shouldn’t go any further in the direction they’re going.

 

[Fenway]

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