In 1993, construction began on a brand new arena in Boston that ended up being nine inches north of the old Boston Garden. To get it built, a deal was struck where the state of Massachusetts would grant approval for the new facility in exchange for the arena owners hosting three fundraisers per year to benefit the Metropolitan District Commission, which oversees Boston’s recreational facilities.
The new arena, now known as TD Garden, ended up costing roughly $160 million, took 27 months to build and opened in 1995. But as a group of teenagers discovered this spring, the Garden owners haven’t held up their end of the bargain by hosting any of the fundraisers in the past 24 years.
According to a story in the Boston Globe, a group of teens was exploring options for funding a new hockey arena in their neighbourhood and looked up the old TD Garden agreement. There, they discovered the wording that appeared to spell out the arena owners’ responsibility.
According to the Globe, one section of the law stated: “An act furthering the establishment of a multi-purpose arena and transportation center … “The new Boston Garden Corporation . . . shall administer . . . no less than three charitable events per year . . . and shall pay the net proceeds . . . to said Metropolitan District Commission.”
The story notes that state officials have had discussions with TD Garden “regarding a resolution to the legislative requirement.” A spokesperson for the Garden told the paper that this was just recently brought to their attention and they were in the early stages of discussing the matter with the state. The spokesperson pointed out the Garden and its organizations already raise more than $2 million a year for community programs.
TD Garden is owned by Delaware North, an umbrella corporation for which Jeremy Jacobs is the chairman. Jacobs also owns the Boston Bruins.
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