BOSTON — TD Garden completed its long-awaited renovation in 2020 and is now home to the Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins, ranking as one of the nation’s best sports venues.
It helps that the team that decorates the garden’s hardwoods and ice is also pretty good. On Tuesday night, the Celtics electrified the TD Garden crowd with an improbable come-from-behind victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Nothing beats a raucous garden party in Boston.
But it’s not because of the Celtics-Bruins game that Front Office Sports, which covers sports business, ranks TD Garden as one of the top 10 best venues in sports. Front Office Sports announced Wednesday the best places to watch a game, ranking the venues with the best fan experiences in the country.
In Boston, it starts before you even step into TD Garden, where a giant entrance gives fans the feeling they’re walking into a special place. (Before the renovation, it was like walking into a train station that also happened to host a sporting event.) Plus, improved fan and team spaces, a giant 4K video board, and numerous innovative social spaces. Featuring menu options for fans. TD Garden is one of the best of the best in the sports world.
Front Office Sports collaborated with the Sports Innovation Lab to develop the list, with venues across the country answering questions about technology, mobile app functionality, dining options and inclusivity, transportation offerings, and mixed-use features. Did. The overall design of the venue was also taken into consideration.
“Front Office Sports’ Best Venues Awards remove the subjectivity from ranking the best places to watch the game,” Josh Walker, CEO and co-founder of the Sports Innovation Lab, said in a release Wednesday. “This ultimate list is derived from a proprietary methodology that scores and ranks venues based on factors identified by leading industry experts. As teams look to evolve their in-game experiences to increase attendance, they can look to venues. This list is a way to cater to fans of the future.”
The top 10 wasn’t announced in any particular order, but the other nine venues that made the cut were:
- Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Home of the Sixers, Flyers, Villanova men’s basketball, and Wings of the NLL.
- State Farm Arena (Atlanta, Georgia): home of the Hawks
- Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky: Home of the Kentucky Derby
- Citi Field, New York, New York: Home of the Mets
- Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas: Home of the Rangers
- Moody Center in Austin, Texas: Home of University of Texas men’s and women’s basketball.
- Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey: Home of the Devils and Seton Hall men’s basketball.
- Frostbank Center, San Antonio, Texas: home of the Spurs,
- Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida: Home of the Dolphins and University of Miami football.