The point I made about concessions being the real money is more based on ROI. Cost to operate vs. revenue. The concessions and the Garden ownership are separate items (ie. Jacobs could sell the Garden or the Bruins and still be the concessionaire). That's why it's a great setup for Jacobs (who was not in threat of bankruptcy that I know of at all). They operate concessions in stadiums and arenas for all major sports, airports, convention centers, etc. Deep pockets.
http://www.delawarenorth.com/map.aspx?mapvar=Worldwide
No offense to the Celtics (they were my first sports love as a child) this has always been a hockey town. That's how it all came to be. The Celtics were winning 11 titles in 13 years in front of half sold houses, while the B's weren't even making the playoffs until a couple Bobby Orr years got them back, but were still playing to larger crowds than the C's.
Hockey was just more blue collar. The tables have turned somewhat in recent memory. Partially due to the Larry Bird years and the Celts becoming the blue collar NBA antithesis to Showtime in LA, plus the huge overall growth of the sport in the 80's. Also, Boston has become less and less blue collar.
History has made the C's the tenant to the B's basically being the landlord. Has nothing to do with any of the crap thrown against the wall above.
As far as the C's being better off with their own, I still have a hard time with that. Owners and investors want quick payback. They don't like to wait 10 years to start making on the building, they want it now. If they decided to leave and build a competitive site, the Garden would upgrade for cheaper over off seasons/downtime to keep their clients. The location can't be beat, it's just a non-argument any way you slice it. The Celts don't have enough to gain to try that. Throw in the fact that basketball is slumping big time in ratings, their next TV contracts may not be so sweet as they have been, and they have some of the highest paid athletes in all of pro sports.... the numbers don't make sense.
