Despite more than halving the entry-level price, hundreds of club seat owners have opted not to come back to their deluxe FleetCenter perches for the home games.
About 1,000 of the FleetCenter's 2,400 club seats remain unsold as the Celtics' new season starts, according to Rich Pond, the team's chief operating officer.
Corporate executives and business owners have been the main buyers of the club seats, which now retail for $5,000 (B5,527) and up to start. But years of disappointing performances by the Celtics and Bruins - combined now with frantic corporate belt-tightening - appear to be taking their toll.
In a bid to woo executives, the FleetCenter has added a bevy of perks tied to club seat deals, from golf course memberships to cruises. Revenue from the FleetCenter's phalanx of club seats helps pay the mortgage on the privately financed $160million (B177m) sports palace, which opened in 1995.
Other observers say the falling seat sales come as no surprise this year as corporations across the country slash spending on luxuries like sports tickets.
