Students discover TD Garden owner skimped on fundraising commitment

Fans of the Bruins and Celtics know that when their team signs a contract with a player, that agreement must be followed to the letter of the law.

But when it comes to state-approved arena projects, there isn't a players' association tasked with keeping an eye on the proceedings. If local bureaucrats drop the ball on oversight, and the arena's owner ignores their own commitment, who's going to hold them accountable?

As Bruins and TD Garden owner Jeremy Jacobs learned, the answer is teenagers.

A group of high school students in Boston stumbled upon inconsistencies between the promises made by Jacobs' Delaware North group back in 1993 and what has actually been delivered to date, the Boston Globe's Milton J. Valencia reports.

As part of the bid to have the $160-million arena project that would become TD Garden approved by the state, Jacobs' ownership group agreed to host three events per year at the new arena to help raise funds for Boston's recreational services. The students discovered that no such events have taken place since TD Garden, then known as FleetCenter, opened in September 1995.

The amateur investigation grew out of the students' keen interest in raising funds for a proposed $21.5-million community recreation center project, one that would service neighborhoods with high levels of at-risk youth.

It isn't clear whether any restitution will come from the discovery of the Garden's unfulfilled fundraising obligations, but state officials are reportedly reviewing "strategies going forward" after being alerted of the students' findings.