In a program co-sponsored by Stop & Shop grocery, the
Celtics will set aside 1,000 seats for each FleetCenter game
this season and sell them for $10 each, compared with an
average ticket price of $50, according to Chris Reidy of the
BOSTON GLOBE. In other news, Celtics Exec VP/Marketing &
Sales Stuart Layne said that since Rick Pitino was named
coach of the team, season-ticket holders "have increased by
2,400 to 13,400." Layne: "If we hadn't gotten Pitino, we
would have lost 2,500 season tickets, so Pitino's impact
represents a swing of about 5,000 seats. That works out to
be about $10 million a year in ticket sales alone" (BOSTON
GLOBE, 10/31). Also in Boston, Richard Kindleberger writes
that a St. Louis developer is negotiating with Polaroid Corp.
to acquire a Waltham, MA, site on which to build a $20M
training facility, medical center and fitness club for the
Celtics. New England Baptist Hospital, a marketing partner
of the Celtics, would partner with the team if the facility
is built (Richard Kindleberger, BOSTON GLOBE, 10/31).
