By Bailey Knecht, sports editor
The Boston Celtics ticketing office released Buzzer Beater Pass last week, a new option for college students that offers deals on last-minute home-game tickets.
“The colleges and universities in Boston are a big part of what makes this city so special, and we want to make sure students are exposed to everything the city has to offer, including its professional sports teams,” Andrew Sherwin, Celtics senior manager of business operations, said in an email to The News. “For students that are new to Boston, we want to introduce them to what being a Celtics fan and a Boston sports fan is all about.”
Fans can register online at the Buzzer Beater Pass website. Six to eight hours prior to a game, the Celtics will send out an alert via text message if tickets become available. Once students receive the text, they have the option to purchase up to six tickets, either in the balcony or loge section. They can purchase the tickets onlineand will receive a mobile barcode for access to TD Garden. About two hours before the game, they will receive an alert revealing their exact seat location.
“The beauty of the Buzzer Beater Pass is that you are purchasing based on a general area but are auto-assigned your seat location based on the best available for that category,” Sherwin said. “One night you could sit in the 10th row of the balcony, and the next game you could sit in row 1 for the same price.”
Seat locations and prices vary from game to game. The balcony seats will most likely be under $20, and the loge seats will be under $40, according to Sherwin. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Sherwin added that there are other perks to registering for Buzzer Beater Pass.
“You are also automatically registered to receive an alert for in-arena seat upgrades and experiences,” he said. “So even though you may enter the arena with a balcony seat, you could upgrade down to the loge for a fraction of the price you would have paid if you’d purchased that loge seat at the box-office price.”
The offer differs from other Boston teams’ student ticket deals like the Red Sox deal, which offers a flat rate of $9 for standing room tickets. Emily McCarthy, a fourth-year journalism major at Northeastern University, said she prefers the predictability of the Red Sox deal.
“I’d probably stick to buying tickets ahead of time, but I could see how [Buzzer Beater Pass] could be popular,” she said. “The preregistration and not knowing where your seats are might throw me off.”
The pass is open to the general public, but the Celtics are primarily promoting it to college students.
“The Celtics have done a pretty good job [of marketing to students],” McCarthy said. “I know they do college nights and stuff… the Red Sox and Celtics use the fact that their tickets can be cheap to attract college students.”
Sherwin added that the Celtics aim to appeal to the college crowd in order to build a dedicated fanbase.
“The best way for students to realize how special the sports culture is in Boston is for them to attend a game live,” Sherwin said. “Once they see how passionate and excited our fan base is about their team, we hope that inspires them to become a fan for life.”
Photo courtesy Brian Babineau, Boston Celtics
