FleetCenter

Lore & Background

The arena was originally slated to open as the Shawmut Center, but a merger led to it opening as the FleetCenter in 1995. The naming rights were sold to TD Banknorth in March 2005, and the arena was renamed TD Banknorth Garden on July 1, 2005. In April 2008, TD Banknorth was acquired by TD Bank, and the building was renamed TD Garden on July 1, 2009. The naming rights deal was extended in January 2023 through June 2045.

In Their Own Story

The lights dimmed slowly over the court, casting long shadows across the parquet floor. A hush fell over the crowd, broken only by the rhythmic thud of sneakers on hardwood from warm-ups above. In the tunnel, a veteran player adjusted his wrist tape, feeling the vibration of eighteen thousand voices waiting to erupt. He stepped out into the roar, the green lights flashing against the rafters, knowing that tonight, history would be written in this arena just as it had been for decades before.

Reader's Guide

TD Garden is the most visited sports and entertainment arena in New England, with nearly 3.5 million visitors each year. It hosts the annual Beanpot college hockey tournament and the Hockey East Championships. It has hosted NCAA basketball tournaments, NCAA men's ice hockey tournament, the 2014 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, the 2016 World Figure Skating Championships, and the 2021 Laver Cup. It also serves as a concert venue.

Did You Know?

• The arena was built directly above North Station, with only nine inches of space between it and the old Boston Garden during construction.
• The original Boston Garden's parquet floor was brought over and used for four seasons; a newly refurbished floor combining old and new sections was unveiled in 1999–2000.
• The arena's construction cost $160 million and took 27 months, including seven weeks of delays due to heavy snowfall.