Celtics Ownership Face $700M Loss in Major Decision That Cut Ties With Decade-Long Partnership

It has been a summer of changes for the Boston Celtics. Starting with the franchise getting new owners after a long time, owner Wyc Grousbeck sold the Cs to Bill Chisholm and his partners for an eye-popping $6.1 billion. If that wasn’t enough, the organization has been furiously making moves all offseason to avoid paying what would’ve been a record-setting $540 million payroll in salaries and luxury taxes. Amid these changes, the Celtics and their new set of owners don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

Recently, the Boston Globe media reported that with the new ownership finally in place, they are set to make a huge decision for the future of the franchise. Bill Chisholm and Co. are planning to build a new arena for the Boston Celtics. Yes, the Cs’ new owners might be open to giving their franchise a new home. As exciting as getting a brand new sports arena might sound, it won’t come without a hefty cost.

While the Cs have managed to cut a significant portion of their massive $540 million payroll, bringing it down to $239 million as of writing, which is approximately $300 million in savings, a new arena might cost upwards of a billion.  A new stadium by the Boston-based organization will add around $700 million in additional expenditure that has no immediate returns. (if we count the $300 million saved through trades being used for this purpose). That’s something that the new owners might have to worry about before even thinking about putting the plan in place.

Did you know? The Celtics’ ties with Delaware North (owners of the TD Garden) might be at stake if a new stadium comes up. The owners of Delaware have leased the arena to the Celtics and Bruins since 1995, a place Boston has played since the 1970s.

Seems like a massive commitment, especially when you’ve splashed billions of dollars just a few months back, right? Yes, it does. That’s why renowned Boston journalist and host of the ‘Locked on Celtics’ podcast, John Karalis, thinks this might not be a decision that Bill Chisholm and his partners might think of executing this summer; rather, keep it in plans for the future.

While discussing the Boston Globe’s report, Karalis said: “The Celtics should absolutely look into but as I’ve said couple of major roadblocks. Number one, it is almost impossible politically to get something like this done. Number two, it is so expensive to get this done,” he said. The host pointed out that while the plan is something that could benefit the Celtics in the long run (generate a lot of revenue from ticket sales, concerts, and other activities), it’s not going to be easy.

The Clippers’ newly built Intuit Dome is a good example. The L.A.-based franchise’s new arena cost them over $2 billion.

So, it’s hard to think that Bill Chisholm and Co. would have a couple of billion dollars just lying around at their disposal. With the lease for the TD Garden running until 2036, the new owners have plenty of time to put this plan in place. Until then, they can certainly figure out a way to back up this project financially; nevertheless, where will they build the new arena?

Where could the Celtics build their new arena in the future?

Now, it’s not a matter of ‘will the Boston Celtics’ owners build a new arena’, but when they’ll finally pull the trigger. But first things first, it requires 30-50 acres to build a new stadium. So here are a few areas that they could take a look at:

• Starting with Everett, the Kraft family is already looking to build a soccer stadium on the waterfront land, with close to 100 acres of industrial area waiting to be cleaned up and redeveloped. So, that could be one area for the Cs’ owners to keep an eye on. However, there’s more.

• Widett Circle would also be a great fit for the Boston Celtics. A decade ago, when the city of Boston was trying to bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics, this piece of land was identified as a potential site to build a stadium, but the Olympics never came, and the 24-acre land still awaits redevelopment.
• More potential areas include West Station, the former Gillette World Shaving Headquarters, Dorchester Bay City, and Suffolk Downs.

It is a call for the new Celtics bosses to take on when to execute their plans, but if they hear the fans, TD Garden is their home.