TD Gardens Claims No. 18 Spot in NHL Arena Rankings

A new ranking of NHL arenas has the Boston Bruins' TD Garden surprisingly low.

According to The Athletic's James Mirtle, TD Garden was ranked No. 18 in the league in light of criteria such as location, amenities, atmosphere, and affordability.

“TD Garden came in lower than expected here, especially considering our beat writers ranked it the sixth-best place to watch a game,” Mirtle wrote about the Boston Bruins' home venue.

“Boston's unbelievably rowdy crowds contribute to that score, for sure, but the fans ranked the atmosphere as merely middle of the pack in their accounting, perhaps due to the Bruins' downturn last season. And TD Garden took a hit in affordability, where it ranked fourth-last,” Mirtle continued.

Comments from fans included in the rankings report echoed the affordability concern, but at least one Bruins fan tried to look on the bright side: 

"There is literally nothing like the Garden during a game. Yes, everyone is drunk. Yes, everyone is having the best and worst night of their lives. Also: They just got the novelty beer hockey sticks. I think it is one of the most expensive arenas in sports in general, so I guess that's what happens when it's home to legendary teams," an anonymous individual noted.

The top-ranked arenas in The Athletic's list included the Bell Centre in Montreal, T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and Benchmark International Arena in Tampa Bay.