It's been a busy week for the Boston Celtics!
All the Giannis trade talk eventually fell flat. Now the current and ongoing Jaylen Brown trade rumors imply it is inevitable that Jaylen Brown will be dealt, and soon. But this one rumor caught me off guard today. Are the Boston Celtics going to be moving arenas? And when would that take place?
As most of you might be aware, the Boston Celtics do not own the TD Garden. The Jacobs family (Boston Bruins owners) own the TD Garden and rent the right to play there to the Boston Celtics. It has long been rumored that the Celtics would eventually want to own and operate their own arena to maximize profit and make their franchise more attractive.
The Boston Celtics have played on Causeway St. for nearly 80 years, beginning in 1946. Every single championship the Celtics have won has been while playing on Causeway St. But interestingly enough, today we had a report in the Boston Globe saying that the Celtics only have 10 years left on their lease and are interested in building their own arena near South Station. Here's the excerpt from the Boston Globe today:
"The C’s have another decade on their lease at TD Garden, so Bill Chisholm has some time to decide. But not THAT much, given how long these projects typically take. And whispers are already out there. “They’ve been looking for a long time in Boston,” one political insider said. “Financially, it’s not working for them not to have their own stadium.” The latest rumored location? Outside South Station, on land currently occupied by the US Postal Service annex along Fort Point Channel."
Considering the Celtics are under new ownership with its roots in private equity, maximizing franchise value and profit would seem like the logical path for the franchise. I would expect a lot more rumors to begin swirling in the coming years as the Celtics' lease slowly comes due.
For now, we can focus on how the team is performing on the court and how they plan on succeeding after moving on from Jaylen Brown. Things are certainly in flux.