Bruins pull out stops

For a decade, Al Pellecchia and his son Albie watched the Boston Bruins play hockey from the same spot: Section 4, Row 9, Seats 7 and 8 at TD Banknorth Garden . With a close view of one of the nets, they were good enough seats that Pellec c hia paid more than $6,000 a year to keep them.

Still, Al Pellec c hia, a 57-year-old retired Somerville teacher, coveted a spot where he and his 21 -year-old son could see more of the ice. Thanks to the Bruins' s latest attempt to lure fans back to hockey and the Garden, last week the Pellec c hias walked through the arena and picked new seats.

It was the first time in the team's history that season ticket holders hand-picked their seats from inside the arena, and as a sales tactic, it worked: The team brought in more than $100,000 in new revenue from seat upgrades and new sales. But it was more than a sales gimmick. The event signaled how far the Bruins are going to keep fans coming to games three years after a player lockout cost the National Hockey League an entire season, and three years since the team 's last winning record.

To improve ticket sales, the Bruins are rolling out all kinds of new tactics in the off-season. They hired two sales and marketing executives away from the National Basketball Association's Orlando Magic to oversee an expanded ticket sales and customer service operation that includes 10 new salespeople. Last week, several Bruins players called season ticket holders, inviting them to lunch.

Delaware North Cos. , which owns the Garden and the Bruins, paid $45,000 for a membership to the Otto Club , a Boston company that rents exotic vehicles like the Ferrari F430 F1 Coupe and the Aston Martin DB9 Volante . The membership wasn't for team executives, though. The Bruins are using the membership to give discounts to fans who sit in the Garden's suites, Premium Club, or Boardroom seats, typically the highest-priced in the building.

"As opposed to paying $2,000 a day for a Lamborghini, they pay $600 or $700," said Dana Petrie , the Premium Club's senior director.

The new perk isn't only about pampering fans who already shelled out the cash for a posh seat ; it's also a carrot the Bruins are dangling to fill the new, expensive seats they opened before last season. About 900 of the 1,100 Premium Club seats and all 125 Boardroom memberships -- which include tickets for two -- have been sold. But the Boardroom is being expanded during the off-season to accommodate more people, so more memberships need to be sold.

Eighty of the Garden's 94 luxury suites are fully leased during hockey season, Petrie said.

The Bruins are also doing more to fill cheaper seats, which are proportionally emptier than the more expensive ones. Starting next season, the team is extending its offer of half-price tickets for students to include every game and is reserving two sections in the arena to accommodate them. Previously the student discount was only available for Thursday night games.

They are also considering a season long family discount, but plans aren't yet final . Children 12 and younger used to get in free and there was a four-tickets-for-$99 family option, but those promotions usually ended by the last home game before Thanksgiving.

Attendance at Bruins games dropped last season to an average of 14,765 per game, with seven sellouts, compared with an average of 16,212 in the 2005-2006 season. They won 35 of 82 games last year.

By comparison, the Boston Celtics, who also play in the Garden and won 24 of 82 games last season, sold out nine games, and had an average attendance of 16,843 . The Celtics have garnered attention in the NBA for their approach to selling seats even as the team toils at the bottom of the standings.

Many of those changes came in the last four years, since the Celtics' s new ownership brought in new managers like Rich Gotham , the team's president and a former technology executive who has emphasized analyzing data about fan habits to boost ticket sales.

The Bruins, too, have shuffled their front office since last year.

Former team president Harry Sinden retired . He wasn't replaced, but several other key personnel moves were made. In addition the Orlando hires, the Celtics promoted Amy Lattimer to senior vice president of sales and marketing. Dan Zimmer , Delaware North's former corporate treasurer, was tapped as vice president of business operations, giving him authority over the team's legal, finance, ticket sales, and retail operations. John Wentzell , formerly the Garden's general manager, was promoted to its president.

Last month, the team hired a new director of marketing, David Turk , from the St. John Sea Dogs , a minor league hockey team.

"What's changed is our management approach to this from the executive level," Lattimer said. "The old regime was 'if we win they will come' and it was that black and white. There wasn't support for this kind of thing because they thought in Boston you had to win."

Keith Reed can be reached at reed@globe.com.