Boston Game-Day Parking Guide: Celtics, Bruins and a Green Line Shutdown

Boston’s fall sports calendar hits its densest stretch starting Friday, Oct. 23, with 12 ticketed events at TD Garden in 13 days, a Halloween-weekend Green Line shutdown that cuts the usual trolley route to North Station, and a Patriots home date against Green Bay on Nov. 8 inside a second, nine-day closure.

Twelve nights at TD Garden

The Celtics open their home schedule at 7 p.m. Friday against the New York Knicks, who arrive as the reigning NBA champions. Boston lost its season opener 121-113 in Detroit on Tuesday, Oct. 20. Doors open to the public at 6 p.m., with pregame programming at The Hub on Causeway next to the garage ramp.

The Bruins follow on Saturday, Oct. 24, hosting the San Jose Sharks at 7 p.m., two nights after shutting out Nashville 6-0. The rest of the run, per TD Garden’s events calendar:

• Sun., Oct. 25: Rod Wave, 8 p.m.
• Mon., Oct. 26: Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls, 7:30 p.m.
• Tue., Oct. 27: Celtics vs. Brooklyn Nets, 7:30 p.m.
• Wed., Oct. 28: KATSEYE, 8 p.m.
• Thu., Oct. 29: John Summit, 7 p.m.
• Fri., Oct. 30: Celtics vs. Bulls (Emirates NBA Cup), 7:30 p.m.
• Sat., Oct. 31: Bruins vs. Chicago Blackhawks, 1 p.m.
• Mon., Nov. 2: Bruins vs. Vegas Golden Knights, 7 p.m.
• Tue., Nov. 3: Disney Worlds Collide Concert Tour, 7 p.m.
• Wed., Nov. 4: Celtics vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 7:30 p.m.

Only Nov. 1 is dark. The 1 p.m. Halloween matinee lands on the most awkward transit day of the stretch.

What the garage under the arena charges

TD Garden’s North Station Garage, entered from 121 Nashua Street or the Causeway Street ramp at 140 Causeway Street, posts an event rate of $60 for games when prepaid through Ticketmaster or the teams’ Account Manager. Drive up within four hours of tipoff or puck drop without a reservation and the rate is $70. Concerts and other events are $60 prepaid or $65 at the gate. Both rates cover up to eight hours, then $5 an hour. The garage has a 6-foot-8 clearance, with EV chargers on Levels 1 and 3 off the Causeway ramp.

The flat $20 weekend and weeknight rate does not apply on event nights; the garage states that event and game rates override daily and discounted rates. Its page points drivers to compare nearby facilities. Spot Check App lists driveways, garages and lots in the West End, North End and Beacon Hill, and its official parking partner LAZ Parking covers downtown garage and event parking through LAZgo.

The Halloween weekend Green Line shutdown

From Saturday, Oct. 31, through Sunday, Nov. 1, the MBTA will suspend Green Line service between North Station and Babcock Street on the B Branch, Kenmore on the C and D branches, and Heath Street on the E Branch for signal upgrades in the central tunnel. Free shuttles will run between Babcock Street, Kenmore and Back Bay, and the Route 39 bus is fare-free in place of the E Branch. The T is telling riders traveling between North Station and Back Bay to use the Orange Line and to budget at least 25 extra minutes. The Framingham/Worcester Line is fare-free between Lansdowne and South Station that weekend.

The Boston Report, summarizing MBTA alerts posted Oct. 14-21, adds that Orange Line signal maintenance near Community College that weekend could stretch waits. Commuter Rail into North Station is unaffected. A second, nine-day closure runs Nov. 7-15 and reaches farther west on the C Branch, to Cleveland Circle.

Street closures and events this weekend

The city’s Oct. 23 traffic advisory lists the 75th annual Madonna Della Cava Halloween Block Party and Parade on Saturday, stepping off on Battery Street in the North End and using Commercial, North, Lewis and Hanover streets. No parking restrictions are posted, but the North End will be dense with foot traffic a short walk from a Bruins game. Downtown, the Boston Asian Food & Beer Tasting Festival runs 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday on City Hall Plaza, with tickets from $17.85.

Looking ahead, the Charlestown Halloween Parade on Oct. 31 brings parking restrictions from noon to 8 p.m. around Monument Square, Monument Avenue, Winthrop, Common and Adams streets. The Veterans Day parade on Saturday, Nov. 7, restricts parking along Boylston, Tremont and Cambridge streets from noon.

Patriots: two road games, then Green Bay

New England lost 30-24 at Chicago on Thursday night, Oct. 22, falling to 4-3. The Patriots play at Miami at 4:25 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, so Gillette Stadium is quiet for two weekends. The next home game is Sunday, Nov. 8, against the Green Bay Packers at 4:25 p.m.

Gillette’s general lots across Route 1 are free for ticket holders and open four hours before kickoff, which means 12:25 p.m. on Nov. 8. Stadium-side passes are sold out for the season. The Be Paid to Park lots, Lot 45 off I-495 and Lot 55B off I-95, hand each vehicle a $50 Visa gift card in exchange for a 75-minute delayed exit; they are secured 30 minutes after kickoff. Rideshare pickup and drop-off is in Lot 15 near the CVS Health Gate, drop-offs on Route 1 are banned, and EV charging is free throughout Patriot Place.

The MBTA’s Patriots event trains for Nov. 8 go on sale in the mTicket app at 11 a.m. Monday, Nov. 2, at $20 round trip. Two trains leave Boston, from South Station at 1:55 and 2:20 p.m. with stops at Back Bay and Dedham Corporate Center, and one leaves Providence at 1:50 p.m. via Pawtucket/Central Falls, Attleboro and Mansfield. Return trains depart Foxboro 30 minutes after the final whistle; the Franklin/Foxboro Line runs weekdays only. Nov. 8 also falls inside the Nov. 7-15 Green Line closure, which matters to anyone riding a trolley to South Station or Back Bay to catch the train.

The Spot Check Take

The $10 gap between a prepaid and a drive-up spot at TD Garden is the simplest money on this list, and it compounds over a 12-event stretch. The harder call is Oct. 31. A 1 p.m. puck drop normally draws families from the western suburbs on the D Branch, and that route does not exist that day. Drivers from the west have three sensible plays: park at a Commuter Rail station and ride into North Station, which is untouched by the work; park near an Orange Line station and ride in; or book a driveway or lot in the West End or Beacon Hill in advance and walk. Hunting for a drive-up spot at 12:30 p.m. on Halloween, with a parade setting up across the bridge in Charlestown, is the worst option.

For Nov. 8 in Foxborough, free general parking plus a 75-minute wait in a Be Paid to Park lot is worth $50 to a full car. The $20 event train is competitive for a single fan driving from Boston, but it is non-refundable and sells out, and the Green Line closure that week tilts the choice back toward driving for anyone west of Kenmore.

What it means for you

• Prepay TD Garden parking through Ticketmaster or book a nearby driveway or garage on Spot Check App; the drive-up premium at the arena garage is $10 for games.
• If you are going to the Bruins’ 1 p.m. game on Oct. 31, do not plan on the Green Line. Use Commuter Rail or the Orange Line into North Station, or park and walk.
• Check your vehicle height: the North Station Garage clearance is 6 feet 8 inches.
• Patriots event train tickets for Nov. 8 go on sale at 11 a.m. on Nov. 2, are app-only and non-refundable, and tend to sell out.
• Avoid Monument Square in Charlestown from noon to 8 p.m. on Halloween and the Boylston-Tremont corridor at midday on Nov. 7.

Heading to the coast? Parking, beaches and events on Grand Strand App.