Following the greatest single-season turnaround in NBA history, Boston Celtics fans should expect an increase in ticket prices next season. As reported by Scott Van Voorhis of the Boston Herald:

The Green Team is eyeing a 10 percent to 15 percent increase in ticket prices next season, Rich Gotham, the Celtics president and business guru, told me yesterday.

As a result of last summer’s blockbuster trades that brought Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to Boston, the number of season ticket holders has increased by 40 percent.

Looking forward to the 2008-09 season, the team has considered capping its number of season tickets at 70 percent of the Garden’s 18,600 seats.

The team now actually has a season-ticket waiting list that includes thousands of names. In addition, the Celtics are holding back approximately a thousands tickets to be sold before every game. This allows non season-ticket holding fans a chance to get their hands on a ticket.

“When you reach a sold-out state, the challenge is to stay connected to the fans who don’t have season tickets,” Gotham said. “It certainly has been a change in our mindset in regards to managing ticket inventory.”

On Stub hub, ticket prices for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals at the TD Banknorth Garden range from $113 in the balcony, to more than $1600 for front-row seats at center court.

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