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TD Garden’s Failed Agreement
An effort to raise money for a neighborhood ice-rink led a group of students to discover that
A state law enacted in 1993 stated that the Boston Garden, which changed its name to TD Garden in 2005, must host three fundraisers a year to raise money for the Metropolitan District Commission, reports The Boston Globe. The MDC oversaw the city’s recreational facilities at the time the law was enacted.
TD Garden –
The agreement was made by the developer of the arena to secure state approval for a new facility.
In separate letters sent to the students, TD Garden and state Department of Conservation and Recreation officials acknowledged that the arena never held the fundraisers.
The students made the discovery while they were trying to raise money for the construction of the Jackson Square Recreation Center, a 50,000-square-foot facility with its own ice rink, which would serve the Jamaica Plain and Roxbury communities. The neighborhoods haven’t had their own in-door ice rink since the 1990s.
Ken Tangvik, activist and director of organizing and engagement for the youth-oriented nonprofit Hyde Square Task Force, worked with the students. After Tangvik received a tip from a Jamaica Plain Neighborhood councilmember, he assigned his youth organizers to research the 1993 law.
The students found the agreement, which stated “The new Boston Garden Cooperation … shall administer … no more than three charitable events per year.”
The students then requested information from the DCR regarding the accounting of funds the state received from fundraisers at TD Garden.
“The search did not reveal a responsive record,” the DCR responded, confirming that no fundraisers were held.
The students told the paper that the arena should make a one-time payment to make up for the last 24 years, in addition to holding the fundraisers agreed upon.
Tricia McCorkle, a spokeswoman for the arena, told the paper that TD Garden is discussing a resolution with the DCR.