TD Garden Game Day Guide
Boston Celtics · Boston, MA
Know Before You Go
- Bag policy
Small bags, including clear bags, must not exceed 6 x 4 x 1.5 inches and are screened at entry.
Diaper bags, breast-pump bags, medical bags, and bags supplied with a Boston ProShop purchase are exceptions.
- Bag storage
Oversized bags can be checked for $15 at the Event Bag Check beside the TD Garden and Boston Garden Society Box Office on Level 1, east side of North Station.
Bag check normally opens two hours before the event and remains open until one hour afterward; hours may vary.
- Gate opening
General doors normally open one hour before game time; member doors open two hours before game time.
Check the event page because opening times can change.
- Mobile tickets
TD Garden events use mobile-only tickets; guests must present a valid mobile ticket for scanning after security screening.
- Re-entry
TD Garden does not allow general re-entry after a ticket has been scanned.
For a personal emergency, speak with the Guest Services Supervisor at Level 4, Loge 4 before exiting; any exception is discretionary.
- Prohibited items
TD Garden prohibits weapons, outside food or drink, glass and metal bottles, vaping devices, aerosols, laptops and tablets, cameras other than phones, drones, large umbrellas, and other listed items.
Empty non-glass water bottles up to 32 ounces are permitted for Bruins and Celtics games. Review the official list because event promoters may add restrictions.
- First aid
First Aid is on Level 4 across from Sections 15 and 16.
- Nursing and lactation
Nursing accommodations are available inside First Aid on Level 4 near Sections 15 and 16.
Breast pumps and their bags are allowed after visual and X-ray screening.
- Family restrooms
Family restrooms are available on Levels 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9, including one within First Aid at Level 4, Loge 15.
- Tickets for children
Children younger than 2 do not need a ticket for a Celtics game.
TD Garden's A-Z guide: a child under two is admitted free for all events provided the child sits on a patron's lap; occasionally a family show requires a ticket for children under two.
- Guest services
Guest Services is at Level 4, Loge 4 and Level 7 near Balcony 304; the event-day Fan Safe text line is 276-FAN-SAFE (326-7233).
- Service animals
Task-trained service dogs are permitted; support and companion animals are not.
A service dog may not occupy an additional seat unless that seat has its own ticket.
Game Day Timeline
What the day looks like at TD Garden, hour by hour.
Arrive in the West End / North End
Take the T to North Station or park in a nearby garage. Walk the North End for a pregame Italian dinner, or hit the bars on Canal Street.
Pregame drinks
Sullivan's Tap, The Fours (RIP. Its successors), or The Harp are the classic pregame spots. Expect crowds on big game nights.
Doors open
Enter TD Garden and watch shootaround. Check out the championship banners and retired jerseys hanging from the rafters.
Find your seat
The arena fills fast for marquee matchups. Settle in and take in the electric atmosphere of a sell-out crowd.
Game time
Celtics games are intense, Boston crowds are knowledgeable and loud. Expect 2-2.5 hours of play with timeouts and halftime.
Halftime break
Hit the concourse for food. The clam chowder stand is a must-try. Upper level concessions have shorter lines.
Post-game scene
Spill out onto Causeway Street and into the Canal Street bars. Or walk to the North End for a late cannoli at Mike's Pastry.
Tips & Fan Reports
Post-game, the Green Line gets packed. Walk to Haymarket or Government Center for a less crowded platform.
Banner 18 hangs from the rafters alongside the retired numbers. Every seat has a view of the championship history.
Take the T, North Station is literally inside the TD Garden building. No easier arena access in the NBA.
The parquet floor is iconic. Even if you're in the 300s, you can see the pattern from above.
The Hub on Causeway (attached to TD Garden) has restaurants open late for postgame dinner.
Halftime lines are brutal. Buy food during the first or third quarter if possible.
Measure the bag: 6 by 4 by 1.5 inches is very small by arena standards, and anything larger costs $15 to check downstairs in North Station.
The garage caps vehicle height at 6 feet 8 inches. A roof box or a van will not fit.
No re-entry at all, so anything you want from the car has to come in with you the first time.
General doors open only an hour before the game, so the hour before that is spent in the neighbourhood rather than in the building unless you are a member.
Before the Game
TD Garden publishes no tailgating policy, and the reason is structural rather than restrictive: the arena has no surface lots. Parking is the North Station Garage directly underneath the building, entered from Nashua Street or Causeway Street at a flat event rate, with a 6 foot 8 inch height limit. North Station itself sits on the ground floor beneath the arena (MBTA Orange and Green Lines plus Commuter Rail) so the pregame here is the neighbourhood above the tracks rather than anything in a car park. Plan the timings: general doors open an hour before tip-off, member doors two, and the bag limit of 6 by 4 by 1.5 inches is among the tightest in the league.
Where to Go Before the Game
North Station Garage
Directly underneath the arena, entered from 121 Nashua Street or 140 Causeway Street. A flat event rate of $65 applies entering two and a half hours before the scheduled start, and the maximum vehicle height is 6 feet 8 inches, the detail that catches out anything taller than a car.
Known for Directly beneath the arena · 6ft 8in height limit · 121 Nashua St / 140 Causeway St
North Station
On the ground floor beneath TD Garden: MBTA Orange and Green Line subway plus Commuter Rail, which is why most people arriving here do not drive at all.
Known for Orange and Green Lines · Commuter Rail · Directly beneath the arena
Event Bag Check, Level 1 in North Station
Where a non-compliant bag goes, at $15. The arena permits only small bags, clutches, crossbodies and wristlets up to 6in x 4in x 1.5in, so anything larger has to be checked in the station downstairs before you go up.
Known for $15 per bag · In North Station · For anything over 6x4x1.5in
Pregame Rules
What TD Garden allows before the game, and what it does not.
- TD Garden publishes no tailgating policy, and has no surface parking lots of its own. Parking is the North Station Garage directly beneath the building.
- For Bruins and Celtics games, member doors open two hours prior to game time and general doors open one hour prior.
- The North Station Garage charges a flat event rate of $65 when entering two and a half hours before the scheduled event time, with an early bird rate of $30 entering before 9:00am and exiting before 6:00pm.
- Maximum vehicle height for the North Station Garage is 6 feet 8 inches.
- Only small bags, clutches, crossbodies and wristlets are permitted, and they must not exceed 6in x 4in x 1.5in. Non-compliant bags can be checked at Event Bag Check on Level 1 in North Station for $15.
- TD Garden maintains a strict no re-entry policy: guests who have entered with a valid ticket may not leave and re-enter during the event.
- Valid ID is required for alcohol, and no more than two alcoholic beverages will be served to a patron at one time.
Weather
TD Garden is indoor, so these are the conditions for the parking lot and the walk in, not the seats.
Across the NBA season the warmest month is October, with an average high of 62°F, and the coldest is January, when the average low is 23°F. December is the wettest month at 4.3 inches and January the driest at 3.4 inches.
That January low ranks 8th coldest of the 30 NBA venues, and December here ranks 12th wettest.
October
4.0 inchesDecember
4.3 inchesJanuary
3.4 inchesMarch
4.2 inchesApril
3.6 inchesWhat to Bring
- Only the outside food and drink the rule allows
Outside food and beverages are not admitted under the general policy.
- A card or a phone wallet
Food, beverage, and merchandise purchases inside TD Garden are contactless; accepted methods include credit and debit cards, mobile payment, and the arena app wallet.
- A coat for the walk in
January lows average 23°F between the lot and the door at TD Garden.
- A poncho for the walk in, not an umbrella
Umbrellas are on TD Garden's prohibited list, and December averages 4.3 inches of rain.
How We Checked This Page
Every section below names the source it was read from and the day it was read. Where we could not reach a published figure, the page says so rather than presenting an estimate as a checked fact.
- Game day timeline
Gate opening time checked against the venue's own gate-opening policy: General doors normally open one hour before game time; member doors open two hours before game time.
- Pregame
TD Garden official site: A-Z Guide, and Directions & Parking (North Station Garage)
- Weather
NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
- Venue policies
TD Garden policies, A-Z, accessibility, and concessions pages plus the Celtics arena guide reviewed for Celtics entry, family, food, payment, and accessibility rules.