When former Boston Celtics governor Wyc Grousbeck and his financial partners announced that the team would be up for sale last year, it was a shock. The Celtics had just captured their record 18th NBA title, and not even a month later, the team’s foundation was put into flux.
It may have been even more shocking to see the Cs sell for the $6.3 billion price tag, considering that ownership of the franchise doesn’t come with ownership of TD Garden, which belongs to the Jacobs family and the Boston Bruins.
Oftentimes, a great deal of the value tied to owning a professional sports team comes from the arena. Even during the offseason, the cash flow doesn’t stop with the venue being booked out for concerts, as well as other shows and events.
Ownership can, of course, take matters into their own hands and build an arena of their own. An example would be the Golden State Warriors building Chase Center, which opened back in 2019. The team didn’t own Oracle Arena and wanted the added value of exclusive arena ownership.
A similar move could be in the cards with the Celtics and new majority owner Bill Chisholm. According to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, Chisholm is believed to be interested in building a new arena in Boston.
“The NBA has increased its demands on team venues and wants a replacement for the older or antiquated arenas,” Washburn wrote Saturday. “Could that potentially mean TD Garden, which has undergone a facelift but is 30 years old? Potentially. It’s believed that soon-to-be governor Bill Chisholm will look into the construction of a new arena since the Celtics do not own TD Garden. The most profitable means for an NBA owner in today’s landscape is arena ownership.”
What would a new arena even mean for the Celtics?
The “new arena” conversation has really shifted into a new gear over the past 13 months. Since the initial sale announcement, there’s been plenty of chatter. The problem with the entire conversation is that when a city is as old as Boston is, it’s not easy to find a new hunk of land to erect a brand-new 20,000-capacity venue.
Everett has been floated as a possible home to this sort of project. Some have speculated that ownership could look into the areas surrounding the Encore Boston Harbor Casino, which opened its doors in 2019.
Even then, there’d be many years between the present and the eventual groundbreaking.
The positive of the Celtics owning their own home would be simple. All of the aforementioned financial benefits could motivate Chisholm and Co. (who may not even need added inspiration) to open the checkbooks and field a competitive roster as often as possible.
Ownership can make or break a franchise. Bad owners can be cheap, unwilling to do what’s needed to win at a high level, and can affect how appealing the team is to free agents and stars around the league.
A good owner, however, can have the opposite effect. Grousbeck and Co. were prime examples of that. They were consistently willing to do what was best for the team, and it showed. Boston missed the postseason just three times in 23 seasons under Grousbeck.
Being a good owner is also a lot easier when extra arena revenue is rolling in.