TD Banknorth Garden

From Free net encyclopedia

TD Banknorth Garden, often called simply the Garden, or the traditional Boston Garden and formerly known as the FleetCenter and the Shawmut Center, is a sports arena in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the home arena for the Boston Bruins, an NHL team, and the Boston Celtics, an NBA team. It is site of the annual Beanpot, and hosts the annual Hockey East Championships. The arena has also hosted many major national sporting events: 1999 and 2003 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball First and Second Rounds and the arena will host the 2006 Women's Final Four. In addition, the facility has hosted the 2001 US Figure Skating Championships, the 1996 and 2000 US Gymnastics Trials, the 2004 and 1998 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship aka the Frozen Four, 1998's WWE WrestleMania XIV event, King of the Ring 2000, Royal Rumble 2003, and Summerslam 2006 later this year, and the 1996 NHL All-Star Game. Like most sports arenas, it also hosts other events, such as concerts, shows, conventions, graduations, seminars, ice shows, circuses, and most notably the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Prior to the 1997 reorganization of the MILL lacrosse league, the arena was also home to the Boston Blazers.

1 History
2 Facilities
3 Official Site
4 References

[edit]

History

Image:FleetCenterAndZakimBridge20040729.jpg When constructed to replace the aging Boston Garden as the home of the Boston Bruins hockey team and the Boston Celtics basketball team, the arena was called FleetCenter. The arena opened on September 30, 1995. As suggested by its original name, the arena was largely privately sponsored, mainly by Fleet Bank of Boston. When construction started, it was named the Shawmut Center, after the original private sponsor, Shawmut Bank. However, during construction Shawmut Bank was bought by Fleet Bank and the arena was renamed. As a result, every seat in the arena, which had been stamped with the Shawmut logo, had to be replaced.

The name of the arena was expected to change as a result of the April 1, 2004 merger of FleetBoston Financial Group with Bank of America. On January 5, 2005, Bank of America and FleetCenter's owner, Delaware North Companies, announced an agreement under which the bank made a payment to be released from the remaining six years on the naming rights agreement. The agreement left Delaware North free to sell the naming rights to another sponsor. On March 3, 2005, Maine-based TD Banknorth, the U.S. subsidiary of Toronto-Dominion Bank, announced its purchase of the naming rights. The company named the facility "TD Banknorth Garden" in honor of the original Boston Garden. The name officially became the TD Banknorth Garden on July 1, 2005. Prior to that date, it went under the name "YourGarden."

In early 2005, while still searching for a long-term corporate sponsor, the FleetCenter conducted auctions on eBay to sell one-day naming rights. From February 10 to March 13, the FleetCenter sold the naming rights 30 different times on eBay. The net proceeds of $150,633.22 generated during the auction was donated to charities in the Greater Boston area, and $40,000 worth of My Grandma's Coffee Cakes was donated to local food banks. During the auctioning, the naming rights for the following names were given for two days: AriaOrthopedics.comCenter and TD Banknorth Garden. The FleetCenter also made private arrangements with a few companies for one-day naming rights, and offered one day's rights in an employee raffle.

During the name auction, only twice were names reported to be rejected. Kerry Konrad, a New York City lawyer and Yankees fan, won naming rights for March 1st. He proposed the name "DerekJeterCenter," after the New York Yankees shortstop, a stab at fellow Harvard alum and Boston Red Sox fan Jerry Rappaport, Jr., with whom he had a 25 year-old rivalry. Being in the heart of Red Sox Nation, the name did not sit well with the executives and was rejected. An agreement was reached, in which the arena would be named "New Boston Garden, Home of The Jimmy Fund Champions."

Fark.com founder Drew Curtis held a contest on his website to name the arena after he bought single-day rights. Users wholly agreed on the "UFIA Center" (an acronym for "Unsolicited Finger in the Anus" that is popular with Fark.com users), but the name was rejected due to the negative connotations, among other names. The name selected by Curtis and company eventually became the "Boston Garden".

Including its present name, the TD Banknorth Garden has had 33 different names.

During its time as the FleetCenter, the building was also known as "The Vault" by Boston sportswriters.

[edit]

Facilities

Just as the Boston Garden was, The TD Banknorth Garden is built on top of Boston's North Station, a major transportation hub. The Commuter Rail waiting area becomes crowded during events due to this design. Connections to the Orange Line and Green Line are at the eastern enterance.

[edit]