Celtics Gov. Wyc Grousbeck indicated that there is no need for new Celtics ownership to build a new arena, saying the TD Garden is “not broken,” according to Zack Cox of the BOSTON HERALD. Grousbeck, appearing on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Friday, following the news of the Celtics’ sale to Bill Chisholm, said, “There’s room for one arena in Boston, not two. Because you need to have concerts and events to fill out the bill.” Grousbeck also cited the organization’s relationship with the Jacobs family, who owns the TD Garden, “We have a great partnership with the Jacobs. … If we ever talked to the Jacobs -- we all decided to renovate the Garden very seriously; there have been huge, hundreds of millions of dollars of renovations -- but if we ever decide to do anything, I’m sure we’d do it together and have both teams playing there” (BOSTON HERALD, 3/21).
PATH UNCLEAR: In a separate piece, Cox wrote about the “three biggest questions facing Chisholm and his partners:”
- What’s this mean for roster? In all likelihood, “financial constraints will force the Celtics to part with at least one or two important players this offseason.”
- Will Grousbeck transition period work? What happens when Grousbeck -- who will remain governor until 2028 -- “pushes for a player signing, financial allocation or other team decision that Chisholm does not agree with? Put simply, how long will Chisholm want another person running the team he spent billions to buy?”
- Will Celtics seek new arena? The team’s TD Garden lease runs through 2036, “so any potential exit would be years away, if not a decade-plus.” Chisholm said in an interview with NBC Sports Boston, “I haven’t put much thought into that” (BOSTON HERALD, 3/21).
BOSTON ROYALTY: In Boston, Adam Himmelsbach noted former NFLer Tom Brady “posted a picture on his Instagram story on Friday of himself with new Celtics minority owner Bruce Beal Jr.” Beal’s “Boston connections run deep” as he and Brady are “longtime friends who have attended the Kentucky Derby together” (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/22).
