Management Update- TD Garden ushers receive more bad news, they’ve been laid off

[Fenway]

First, the Globe asked then the Herald and now Channel 4.

This is not Papa Jacobs doing - This is on Charlie. We know they are on the hook to replace the seats in the balcony and now they are looking at playoff revenue vanishing from both the Bruins and Celtics.

It's pretty bad when even the Ottawa owner pledged to do something.

Bruins Are Only NHL Team Not To Announce Plan To Help Stadium Workers During Coronavirus Crisis

BOSTON (CBS) — All but one NHL team has announced a plan to provide financial assistance for part-time arena employees during the league’s coronavirus stoppage. That one team is the Boston Bruins.

No Bruins fan will be shocked to hear this unfortunate news.

The TD Garden is owned by Delaware North, a hospitality and food service company run by notoriously frugal Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs and his family. There has been no announcement how the company will help TD Garden workers who are now out of a job after the league halted the season due to the coronavirus pandemic, only a statement to the Boston Herald that the company was “actively exploring support options” for stadium employees.

They promised more information would follow, but that was a week ago. In the meantime, workers now out of work have bills to pay, and they’re not sure how that will get done. TD Garden employees voiced their concern over the team’s silence to the Boston Herald on Thursday.

“This experience has been hell for me personally,” a worker at the Legends restaurant inside TD Garden told the Herald. “My biggest fear is always being homeless again.”

The Bruins had six more home games on their regular season schedule, with a potential deep playoff run to follow. There is no word on when the NHL could return, but it won’t be any time soon.

Neither the team nor Delaware North returned a call from the Herald on Thursday.

TD Garden employees frustrated with lack of communication

Click to read more...

 

[Gator Mike]

I'm generally not someone to bash the Jacobs family... but this is a bad look, to say the least.

 

[Fenway]

Anaheim Ducks (Honda Center) – Ducks owners to pay Honda Center employees during event postponement
Arizona Coyotes (Gila River Arena) – Coyotes to pay team, arena workers during shutdown
*Boston Bruins (TD Garden) – TD Garden employees frustrated with lack of communication
Buffalo Sabres (KeyBank Center) – Buffalo Sabres: Pegula family make right call to pay arena employees
Calgary Flames (Scotiabank Saddledome) – Flames reverse decision to not pay part-time arena workers for events canceled due to coronavirus
Carolina Hurricanes (PNC Arena) – Carolina Hurricanes promise to pay PNC employees, event staff during coronavirus suspension
Chicago Blackhawks (United Center) – Bulls, Blackhawks Owners Will Pay United Center Workers During Suspension of Seasons
Colorado Avalanche (Pepsi Center) – Kroenke Sports and Entertainment pledges to pay arena workers for next 30 days – The Denver Post
Columbus Blue Jackets (Nationwide Arena) – Coronavirus: Blue Jackets will aid hourly game-day workers
Dallas Stars (American Airlines Arena) – Mark Cuban Plans To Pay Hourly Employees Through The End Of March
Detroit Red Wings (Little Caesar’s Arena) – Coronavirus: NHL players and teams pledge to pay arena workers impacted by league's hiatus due to COVID-19
Edmonton Oilers (Rogers Place) – Robert Tychkowski: Oilers do the right thing to help part-time staff during COVID-19 crisis
Florida Panthers (BB&T Center) – https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nhl/florida-panthers/article241179906.html
Los Angeles Kings (Staples Center) – https://www.latimes.com/sports/stor...enter-establish-fund-to-assist-hourly-workers
Minnesota Wild (XCel Energy Center) – https://www.hockeywilderness.com/20...a-workers-employees-coronavirus-craig-leipold
Montreal Canadiens (Bell Centre) – https://dailyhive.com/montreal/canadiens-players-arena-staff
Nashville Predators (Bridgestone Arena) – https://www.nashvillepost.com/sport...y-employees-despite-temporary-league-shutdown
New Jersey Devils (Prudential Center) – https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...s-will-pay-devils-arena-staff-during-shutdown
New York Islanders (Barclays Center) – https://www.pix11.com/sports/nets-to-pay-barclays-center-staff-during-season-stoppage
New York Rangers (Madison Square Garden) – https://www.sny.tv/rangers/news/mad...rch-22-during-coronavirus-pandemic/313057970/
Ottawa Senators (Canadian Tire Centre) – https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nh...time-arena-staff-coronavirus-hockey-1.5499643
Philadelphia Flyers (Wells Fargo Center) – https://www.inquirer.com/sports/cor...spectacor-mark-cuban-kevin-love-20200313.html
Pittsburgh Penguins (PPG Paints Arena) – https://www.post-gazette.com/sports...spended-PPG-Paints-Arena/stories/202003130177
San Jose Sharks (SAP Center) – https://www.mercurynews.com/sharks-to-pay-part-time-sap-center-employees-for-hours-lost
St. Louis Blues (Enterprise Center) – https://www.ksdk.com/article/sports...enter/63-9e7b4d14-c3f6-4c92-ab04-4c128f680356
Tampa Bay Lightning (Amelie Arena) – https://www.tampabay.com/sports/lig...oup-set-to-compensate-amalie-arena-employees/
Toronto Maple Leafs (Scotiaback Arena) – https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/nba/mlse-will-compensate-event-staff-no-games-played/
Vancouver Canucks (Rogers Arena) – https://www.vancourier.com/sports/c...rena-employees-during-nhl-stoppage-1.24097981
Vegas Golden Knights (T-Mobile Arena) – https://www.fox5vegas.com/news/vgk-...deo_3b319d9b-57ac-588f-80a3-beec95e1db30.html
Washington Capitals (Capital One Arena) – https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/mar/13/ted-leonsis-to-pay-arena-workers-after-wizards-cap/
Winnipeg Jets (Bell MTS Place) – https://www.tsn.ca/company-that-owns-jets-says-it-will-pay-employees-during-nhl-suspension-1.1457589

 

[Fenway]

​

 

[McGarnagle]

I'm generally not someone to bash the Jacobs family... but this is a bad look, to say the least.

I think most of the "Jacobs is a cheapskate" narrative over the past 40 years has been exaggerated. But this...this is just....if I said what I wanted to I'd get banned, but yeah, JJ is real a piece of crap.

 

[BigGoalBrad]

I think most of the "Jacobs is a cheapskate" narrative over the past 40 years has been exaggerated. But this...this is just....if I said what I wanted to I'd get banned, but yeah, JJ is real a piece of crap.

Always has been. We’ve just had a good window after he spearheaded the effort to break the PA losing a season in the process, removed Sinden, and signed the best defensive player in NHL history to go with some other nice pieces. Season ticket holders also enjoyed reasonable prices for a good 5-6 years of that.

We have the best team in the NHL and stand to benefit from the frugality as fans when we look at the roster and payroll compared to other teams so it is what it is. Chicago might still be contending if Kane and Toews took Marchand/Bergy deals. Obviously JJ needs to do the right thing here but let’s also hope these folks get to work a ton of games into the summer like they did last year.

 

[GordonHowe]

First, the Globe asked then the Herald and now Channel 4.

This is not Papa Jacobs doing - This is on Charlie. We know they are on the hook to replace the seats in the balcony and now they are looking at playoff revenue vanishing from both the Bruins and Celtics.

It's pretty bad when even the Ottawa owner pledged to do something.

Bruins Are Only NHL Team Not To Announce Plan To Help Stadium Workers During Coronavirus Crisis

BOSTON (CBS) — All but one NHL team has announced a plan to provide financial assistance for part-time arena employees during the league’s coronavirus stoppage. That one team is the Boston Bruins.

No Bruins fan will be shocked to hear this unfortunate news.

The TD Garden is owned by Delaware North, a hospitality and food service company run by notoriously frugal Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs and his family. There has been no announcement how the company will help TD Garden workers who are now out of a job after the league halted the season due to the coronavirus pandemic, only a statement to the Boston Herald that the company was “actively exploring support options” for stadium employees.

They promised more information would follow, but that was a week ago. In the meantime, workers now out of work have bills to pay, and they’re not sure how that will get done. TD Garden employees voiced their concern over the team’s silence to the Boston Herald on Thursday.

“This experience has been hell for me personally,” a worker at the Legends restaurant inside TD Garden told the Herald. “My biggest fear is always being homeless again.”

The Bruins had six more home games on their regular season schedule, with a potential deep playoff run to follow. There is no word on when the NHL could return, but it won’t be any time soon.

Neither the team nor Delaware North returned a call from the Herald on Thursday.

TD Garden employees frustrated with lack of communication

If they do something, great. Unti then, given history, I remain a Jacobs critic.

My restrained response. Believe me.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

Jacobs family is far wealthier than most ownership groups in the league. They can afford to pay the staff and need to do so to keep my respect and keep me attending any games in the future. I am a non-threat threat to them as one individual, but I’m sticking to my guns on this one.

It is enraging to think that the millionaires/billionaires of the world would dare not step up in this kind of situation. I know some have, but they all should. Period. End of story. This isn’t people asking for any sort of luxury. For many, it is asking for help to keep a roof over their head and feed their families.

I know that if there is any way I end up qualifying for one of these checks the federal government is talking about, it’s going straight to someone I know in the service industry and/or someone who works on an hourly wage that currently has no income. I know that other people like me will follow suit and at the very least, I hope the wealthiest among us follow suit.

 

[Aussie Bruin]

It seems to me that the Jacobs family are long past giving a damn what anyone in the media and fanbase think about them. They know they are guaranteed full houses in Boston for as long as there are games to be played, and Delaware are well and truly entrenched as one of the world's largest service and hospitality companies, so image means almost nothing to them.

My guess is that they will actually eventually offer some sort of financial support to their affected staff, but it will be desultory, limited and on their own terms. Such a shame, really feel for those staff who are caught up in this.

 

[Fenway]

It seems to me that the Jacobs family are long past giving a damn what anyone in the media and fanbase think about them. They know they are guaranteed full houses in Boston for as long as there are games to be played, and Delaware are well and truly entrenched as one of the world's largest service and hospitality companies, so image means almost nothing to them.

My guess is that they will actually eventually offer some sort of financial support to their affected staff, but it will be desultory, limited and on their own terms. Such a shame, really feel for those staff who are caught up in this.

Melbourne & Olympic Parks

OLYMPIC BOULEVARD, MELBOURNE, VICTORIA 3000

Delaware North has been operating food service at Melbourne & Olympic Parks since 1988.

Included in Delaware North’s operations are Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and Hisense Arena. Melbourne & Olympic Parks hosts more than 1.6 million visitors annually at a wide range of national and international sporting, entertainment and corporate events – most famously the Australian Open Tennis Championships.

Delaware North operates all concessions, corporate dining and catering at Marvel Stadium.

The 53,359-seat venue is home to Australian Rules Football, A-league Football, Rugby Union and Rugby League matches, concerts and special events. Marvel Stadium is the only football stadium in the Southern Hemisphere with a fully retractable roof.

 

[Pia8988]

Is anyone even the least bit surprised by this though?

 

[Aussie Bruin]

Melbourne & Olympic Parks

OLYMPIC BOULEVARD, MELBOURNE, VICTORIA 3000

Delaware North has been operating food service at Melbourne & Olympic Parks since 1988.

Included in Delaware North’s operations are Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and Hisense Arena. Melbourne & Olympic Parks hosts more than 1.6 million visitors annually at a wide range of national and international sporting, entertainment and corporate events – most famously the Australian Open Tennis Championships.

Delaware North operates all concessions, corporate dining and catering at Marvel Stadium.

The 53,359-seat venue is home to Australian Rules Football, A-league Football, Rugby Union and Rugby League matches, concerts and special events. Marvel Stadium is the only football stadium in the Southern Hemisphere with a fully retractable roof.

Yep, for sure we're well familiar with the 'delights' of Delaware North's services here! My wife actually used to work for Melbourne & Olympic Parks, helping to organize and run the Australian Open tennis tournament amongst other things, and she had numerous dealings with the Delaware people. They're not much different to how they are in America, from what we can tell - their concessions provide bad, expensive food and are operated by an arrogant senior management group. They know their game though and have been in it for a long time, so they're an easy choice for those venue operators looking for a safe pair of hands to run their food and beverage services who aren't too fussed about the quality of what's supplied.

 

[Gordoff]

I'm not in the least bit surprised. THIS is what some of us here felt they would do if the shit ever hit the fan. They couldn't care less about any of their lower (paid) echelon employees in the least. People always bring up "they spend to the cap" but that is only the beginning of what it takes to be good people, owners, leaders and especially human beings. I've never had any expectations that they would do the right thing when push comes to shove and this is exhibit A.

 

[talkinaway]

Anaheim Ducks (Honda Center) – Ducks owners to pay Honda Center employees during event postponement
Arizona Coyotes (Gila River Arena) – Coyotes to pay team, arena workers during shutdown
*Boston Bruins (TD Garden) – TD Garden employees frustrated with lack of communication
Buffalo Sabres (KeyBank Center) – Buffalo Sabres: Pegula family make right call to pay arena employees
Calgary Flames (Scotiabank Saddledome) – Flames reverse decision to not pay part-time arena workers for events canceled due to coronavirus
Carolina Hurricanes (PNC Arena) – Carolina Hurricanes promise to pay PNC employees, event staff during coronavirus suspension
Chicago Blackhawks (United Center) – Bulls, Blackhawks Owners Will Pay United Center Workers During Suspension of Seasons
Colorado Avalanche (Pepsi Center) – Kroenke Sports and Entertainment pledges to pay arena workers for next 30 days – The Denver Post
Columbus Blue Jackets (Nationwide Arena) – Coronavirus: Blue Jackets will aid hourly game-day workers
Dallas Stars (American Airlines Arena) – Mark Cuban Plans To Pay Hourly Employees Through The End Of March
Detroit Red Wings (Little Caesar’s Arena) – Coronavirus: NHL players and teams pledge to pay arena workers impacted by league's hiatus due to COVID-19
Edmonton Oilers (Rogers Place) – Robert Tychkowski: Oilers do the right thing to help part-time staff during COVID-19 crisis
Florida Panthers (BB&T Center) – https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nhl/florida-panthers/article241179906.html
Los Angeles Kings (Staples Center) – Lakers, Clippers, Kings and Staples Center provide millions in aid for arena workers
Minnesota Wild (XCel Energy Center) – Wild pledge to aid part-time arena workers
Montreal Canadiens (Bell Centre) – Canadiens players step up to help pay part-time arena staff | Offside
Nashville Predators (Bridgestone Arena) – Bridgestone Arena to pay employees despite temporary league shutdown | Nashville Post
New Jersey Devils (Prudential Center) – Apollo’s Harris Will Pay Devils Arena Staff During Shutdown
New York Islanders (Barclays Center) – Nets to pay Barclays Center staff during season stoppage
New York Rangers (Madison Square Garden) – Madison Square Garden to pay event workers through March 22 during coronavirus pandemic
Ottawa Senators (Canadian Tire Centre) – https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nh...time-arena-staff-coronavirus-hockey-1.5499643
Philadelphia Flyers (Wells Fargo Center) – Wells Fargo Center will pay hourly arena workers for at least two weeks for games missed because of coronavirus outbreak
Pittsburgh Penguins (PPG Paints Arena) – Sidney Crosby, Penguins organization announce plan to pay PPG Paints Arena workers
San Jose Sharks (SAP Center) – San Jose Sharks to pay SAP Center workers for hours lost
St. Louis Blues (Enterprise Center) – https://www.ksdk.com/article/sports...enter/63-9e7b4d14-c3f6-4c92-ab04-4c128f680356
Tampa Bay Lightning (Amelie Arena) – https://www.tampabay.com/sports/lig...oup-set-to-compensate-amalie-arena-employees/
Toronto Maple Leafs (Scotiaback Arena) – https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/nba/mlse-will-compensate-event-staff-no-games-played/
Vancouver Canucks (Rogers Arena) – https://www.vancourier.com/sports/c...rena-employees-during-nhl-stoppage-1.24097981
Vegas Golden Knights (T-Mobile Arena) – https://www.fox5vegas.com/news/vgk-...deo_3b319d9b-57ac-588f-80a3-beec95e1db30.html
Washington Capitals (Capital One Arena) – https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/mar/13/ted-leonsis-to-pay-arena-workers-after-wizards-cap/
Winnipeg Jets (Bell MTS Place) – https://www.tsn.ca/company-that-owns-jets-says-it-will-pay-employees-during-nhl-suspension-1.1457589

Amazing compendium of the 30 other NHL teams that responded quickly.

The response time matters. The TD Garden workers will have missed 7 working days by the time the Hockey East championship isn't played this weekend. They don't know if they'll be compensated, and Delaware North is dragging their heels, hoping that state unemployment will pay.

It's disgusting that a billionaire can't be bothered to pay the workers, but he's willing to pay the millionaires...who in turn are promoting (and donating to) GoFundMes.

Be a Cuban. He can be obnoxious at times, but dammit, he acted quickly, and he was RIGHT when he announced that the Mavs workers would all get their pay. If you act first, you look like the hero. If you act last, you look like you were dragged by the media to do it, and you get ZERO credit for doing what you should have done in the first place.

They currently have about about $400 of my money locked up thanks to this debacle - let's face it, there is not going to be another regular season NHL game played anywhere this season, so that money will be rightfully mine. For now, I consider it floating the Bruins a loan for a brief period of time, but they should be using that money for something good.

 

[Fenway]

Yep, for sure we're well familiar with the 'delights' of Delaware North's services here! My wife actually used to work for Melbourne & Olympic Parks, helping to organize and run the Australian Open tennis tournament amongst other things, and she had numerous dealings with the Delaware people. They're not much different to how they are in America, from what we can tell - their concessions provide bad, expensive food and are operated by an arrogant senior management group. They know their game though and have been in it for a long time, so they're an easy choice for those venue operators looking for a safe pair of hands to run their food and beverage services who aren't too fussed about the quality of what's supplied.

Do they have the Melbourne Cricket Ground as well? Concessions were a little flat there yesterday

 

[Fenway]

Amazing compendium of the 30 other NHL teams that responded quickly.

The response time matters. The TD Garden workers will have missed 7 working days by the time the Hockey East championship isn't played this weekend. They don't know if they'll be compensated, and Delaware North is dragging their heels, hoping that state unemployment will pay.

It's disgusting that a billionaire can't be bothered to pay the workers, but he's willing to pay the millionaires...who in turn are promoting (and donating to) GoFundMes.

Be a Cuban. He can be obnoxious at times, but dammit, he acted quickly, and he was RIGHT when he announced that the Mavs workers would all get their pay. If you act first, you look like the hero. If you act last, you look like you were dragged by the media to do it, and you get ZERO credit for doing what you should have done in the first place.

They currently have about about $400 of my money locked up thanks to this debacle - let's face it, there is not going to be another regular season NHL game played anywhere this season, so that money will be rightfully mine. For now, I consider it floating the Bruins a loan for a brief period of time, but they should be using that money for something good.

NBC sent a direct deposit to me for my scheduled events through the end of March and Rogers Sportsnet paid me for the HNIC Leafs game that was supposed to have been last Saturday. For home games, I always work on the visiting feed or NBC.

Right now like everybody else for me it is

 

[Aussie Bruin]

Do they have the Melbourne Cricket Ground as well? Concessions were a little flat there yesterday

No, the concessions at the MCG are run by a different company and it's little surprise that their food is substantially better. We don't buy food or drink much when we go to sports games but at least at the MCG it's an option as we know we'll get something half-decent and while it's still expensive enough there is at least some correlation between what you pay and what you get.

Your picture does raise another interesting point too - our two biggest sports leagues, Australian Rules Football and the National Rugby League, are two of the only leagues in the world that are still running. Both are playing in empty stadiums as you can see, but they are at least still happening. This has been contentious for a number of reasons - even though the amount of coronavirus cases in Australia has so far been well below what's occurring in many other places, it's still here and increasing, so having a bunch of guys still travelling around playing a high-contact sport in a country that is otherwise in semi-lockdown seems questionable, either league will have to be instantly suspended the moment one player tests positive, as happened with the NBA, making for a probably really disjointed season, the optics are poor of just pressing on when everywhere else has decided that this is a bad idea, and it's weird and not overly enjoyable watching big-league games with no crowds.

The problem is that both leagues are terrified that multiple clubs will go broke if significant portions of the season are lost. It's bad enough that ticket and membership sales will be down without also losing money from the TV and media rights if games aren't played at all. In a smaller economy, many teams just don't have the financial reserves that clubs in America and Europe more often do. So they're pressing on, for now, but I'm not sure how long it'll last.

 

[Deleted]

Roughly how many staff are talking about here? Is something like a GoFundMe page feasible to help these staff out in the short term at least? I would certainly donate as nothing pisses me off like regular hard working people suffering for no other reason than greed.

 

[Aussie Bruin]

Roughly how many staff are talking about here? Is something like a GoFundMe page feasible to help these staff out in the short term at least? I would certainly donate as nothing pisses me off like regular hard working people suffering for no other reason than greed.

The article linked above by @Fenway (https://www.bostonherald.com/2020/03/18/td-garden-employees-frustrated-with-lack-of-communication) stated that there is a current GoFundMe account for Garden employees but expressed some concerns about its operation. So I'm not sure if it's best to donate to that or if there might be a better option. Does anyone else have better info on this and what might be done?

 

[chizzler]

It’s disappointing to hear they haven’t at least payed them in the short term. I get that the probably have thousands of workers. It’s not only the Garden they have to pay for. They should go to the big vault they have in that Florida complex and get some of that money out. They just ruined all that good feeling of them paying to the cap limit and brought back that old “cheap” feeling people had. There is no doubt they were waiting for the government to step in.

 

[Kate08]

It sickens me that I’m locked into tickets for next year. I loathe the idea of giving this family any of my money. How they ultimately handle this is going to have a big effect on my decision to renew going forward, if it can even be saved.

hell, I can’t even say I won’t buy concessions when we do go back because that hurts the workers.

just evil.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

Embarrassing look for this family.

Calgary reversed their decision. Even Ottawa is taking care of their employees.

Jacobs only spends to the cap because of the ROI.
If he owned the Florida Panthers or Coyotes he'd be under the cap with LTIR contracts.

 

[the negotiator]

A case study on being tone deaf or as likely not giving a damn.

It's amazing how the on ice product can be so good and the off ice so bad. Two separate operations with the on ice driving the success of the other.

Someday when we get back to having games I'll pass on buying anything and instead just leave a tip....." two waters please...here's $10....keep the water"

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

A case study on being tone deaf or as likely not giving a damn.

It's amazing how the on ice product can be so good and the off ice so bad. Two separate operations with the on ice driving the success of the other.

Someday when we get back to having games I'll pass on buying anything and instead just leave a tip....." two waters please...here's $10....keep the water"

They already ran that experiment on the smaller seating for more money.

They said they'd 're-evaluate' after the season with the expectation it would be swept under the rug and I daresay it worked.

NESN changing the logo and flat out mocking critics.

They know they can do what they want and the New England sports fans will follow.

 

[LSCII]

Even if it's legal, it's still shameful. Literally every other team is taking care of the little people, yet the Jacobs are too busy having Smithers count their money for them, pretending they didn't notice.