Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.
Opening on February 11, 1968, it is the longest active major sporting facility in the New York Metropolitan area, and is the fourth incarnation of the arena in the city. One Penn Plaza stands at its side.
Several other operating entities related to the venue share its name.
Madison Square Garden is the third busiest arena in the world in terms of ticket sales, behind only M.E.N. Arena, Manchester and the The O2 Arena, London both in England. Take a seat inside the new Dome| Music | This is London The lemon Dome that was transformed into O2's concert crown
Madison Square Garden refers to itself in its advertising campaigns as the World's Most Famous Arena.
As of the start of the 2010–11 NHL season, & 2010-11 NBA season The Garden will be the oldest arena in the NHL, and the second oldest in the NBA, following only Oracle Arena, in Oakland,CA which was extensively renovated in 1997.
History
On February 11, 1968,http://www.thegarden.com/faq/index.html the current Madison Square Garden (sometimes referred to as Madison Square Garden IV) opened after the Pennsylvania Railroad tore down the above-ground portions of Pennsylvania Station and continued railway traffic underneath. The new structure was one of the first of its kind to be built above an active railroad system and the platforms of an active railroad station. It was an engineering feat constructed by R.E. McKee of El Paso, Texas. Public outcry over the demolished Beaux-Arts structure led to the creation of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The current Garden is the hub of Madison Square Garden Center in the office and entertainment complex formally addressed as Pennsylvania Plaza and commonly known as Penn Plaza for the railroad station atop which the complex is located. In 1972, the Garden's Chairman, Irving Mitchell Felt, suggested moving the Knicks and the Rangers to what was a proposed venue in the New Jersey Meadows (now completed and known as Meadowlands Sports Complex or Izod Center). This location would eventually host its own NBA and NHL teams (the New Jersey Nets, and the New Jersey Devils respectively). The NFL's New York Giants were the only established New York–named team that actually did move there, and they were later joined by the Jets. Felt's efforts fueled controversy between the Garden and New York City over Real Estate Tax. The scenario again flared in 1980 when a reported threat by the Garden supposed a similar move of popular sports teams in an effort to again challenge property tax. Efforts were ignored by city leaders. MSG was the home arena for the NY Raiders/NY Golden Blades of the World Hockey Association. In 1991, Garden owners spent $200 million to renovate facilities and add 89 suites. The process involved hundreds of upper-tier seats being removed to make way. The project was designed by Ellerbe Becket. In 1994, the Garden was the center of the sports universe as the Knicks and Rangers reached the finals of their respective leagues. While the Rangers won the Stanley Cup on their home ice against the Vancouver Canucks (and thus reversed the Curse of 1940), the Knicks lost to the Houston Rockets in a seven-game NBA final, despite being up three games to two after winning two out of three in the Garden. Although that 1994 finals loss occurred in Houston, the Knicks also lost the 1999 NBA Finals on its home floor against the San Antonio Spurs in five games. In 2004–2005, Cablevision battled with the City of New York over proposed West Side Stadium which would compete with the Garden. New stadium proposals halted; and Cablevision announced its own plans to raze the Garden, replace it with high-rise commercial buildings and build a new Garden one block away at the James Farley Post Office site in conjunction with the Moynihan Station project. However, on April 3, 2008 MSG executives announced plans to once again renovate and modernize the current Garden in time for the Knicks and Rangers' 2011–12 seasons, though the vice president of the Garden says he remains committed to the original Moynihan project - the installation of an extension of Penn Station in the Farley Post Office.Present operations
The present Garden hosts approximately 320 events a year. It is the home of the New York Rangers of the NHL, the New York Knicks of the NBA, and the New York Liberty of the WNBA, which are, like the arena itself, owned by Madison Square Garden, L.P. The arena is also host to the Big East Men's Basketball Conference Tournament. Other regular events include the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus when it comes to New York City (although the Izod Center and Nassau Coliseum also host the circus each year), selected home games for the St. John's men's Red Storm ( college basketball), the annual pre and postseason NIT tournaments, the NBA Draft, the Millrose Games track and field meet, and almost any other kind of indoor activity that draws large audiences, such as the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show and the 2004 Republican National Convention. It has previously hosted the 1976, 1980 and 1992 Democratic National Conventions, and hosted the NFL Draft for many years (now held at Garden-leased Radio City Music Hall). In 2007, over 13,000 fans enjoyed the National Lacrosse League's New York Titans inaugural home opener at Madison Square Garden. In 2008, the Titans played five home games at the Garden. MSG is also known for its place in the history of boxing. Many of boxing's biggest fights were held at Madison Square Garden, including the Roberto Durán- Ken Buchanan affair, and the first Joe Frazier– Muhammad Ali bout. Before promoters such as Don King and Bob Arum moved boxing to Las Vegas, Madison Square Garden was considered the mecca of boxing. The original 18½' × 18½' ring, which was brought from the second and third generation of the Garden, was officially retired on September 19, 2007 and donated to the International Boxing Hall of Fame after 82 years of service. A 20' × 20' ring replaced it beginning on October 6 of that same year. Many large popular-music concerts in New York City take place in Madison Square Garden. Paul McCartney performed a lot of concerts there. Particularly famous ones include George Harrison's Concert For Bangladesh, The Concert for New York City following the September 11 attacks and John Lennon's final concert appearance (during an Elton John concert on Thanksgiving Night, 1974) before his murder in 1980. The Garden usually hosts a concert each year on New Years Eve, with the Knicks and Rangers usually playing on the road. The Police played their final show of their reunion tour at the Garden in 2008. To this day, Elton John currently holds the all-time record for greatest number of appearances at The Garden with 60 shows (the 60th occurring on his 60th birthday, March 25, 2007), and Billy Joel set his own record in 2006 during his 12 performance run, achieving the title “Longest Run of a Single Artist.” In an interview (MSG Press Release, published by Business Wire, Dec. 21, 2009), the two piano men spoke about their affinity for playing concerts at the Garden. “Madison Square Garden is my favorite venue in the whole world,” said Elton John. “I chose to have my 60th birthday concert there, because of all the incredible memories I’ve had playing the venue.” “Madison Square Garden is the center of the universe as far as I'm concerned. It has the best acoustics, the best audiences, the best reputation, and the best history of great artists who have played there," said Billy Joel. “It is the iconic, holy temple of Rock and Roll for most touring acts and being a New Yorker, it holds a special significance to me. I'm honored to hold the record for Most Consecutive Nights Ever Sold at this world famous venue." In 2010, Madison Square Garden chose Michael Jackson's 1988 concert during the Bad World Tour as the greatest concert ever held at its venue. The arena is also used for other special events, including tennis and circus events. The New York Police Academy, Baruch College/ CUNY and Yeshiva University also hold their annual graduation ceremonies at Madison Square Garden. It hosted the Grammy Awards in 1972, 1997 and 2003 (which are normally held in Los Angeles) as well as the Latin Grammy Awards in 2006. The Garden also hosted the 2005 Country Music Association Awards (normally held in Nashville). The Big East Conference men's basketball tournament has been held at MSG every year since 1983 making it the longest period a conference tournament has been held at a single location. The PBR has even made annual stops each year since 2007, when its inaugural Built Ford Tough Series event was won by J. B. Mauney. The Garden has hosted numerous wrestling matches, including the first Wrestlemania, as well as WrestleMania X and WrestleMania XX.Seating
Seating in the present Madison Square Garden is arranged in six ascending levels. The first level, which is only available for basketball games and concerts, but not for hockey games and ice shows, is the "floor" or "court-side" seating. Next above this is the loge seating, followed by the 100-level and 200-level promenades, the 300-level promenade, and the 400-level or mezzanine. The seats of these levels originally bore the colors red, orange, yellow, green, and blue, respectively. For hockey, the Garden seats 18,200; for basketball, 19,763; and for concerts 20,000 center stage, 19,522 end-stage. The arena features 20,976 square feet (1949 m²) of arena floor space. Because all of the seats, except the 400 level, are in one monolithic grandstand, horizontal distance from the arena floor is significant from the ends of the arena. Also, the rows rise much more gradually than other North American arenas, which can cause impaired sight lines, especially when sitting behind tall spectators or one of the concourses. This arrangement, however, also creates a significant advantage over newer arenas in that seats have a significantly lower vertical distance from the arena floor.Other venues
Today's Madison Square Garden is more than just the arena. Other venues at the Garden include:- The Theater at Madison Square Garden, which seats between 2,000 and 5,600 for concerts and can also be used for meetings, stage shows, and graduation ceremonies, and was also the traditional home of the NFL Draft until 2005, when it moved to the Jacob Javits Convention Center after MSG management opposed a new stadium for the New York Jets. It also occasionally hosts major boxing matches on nights when the main arena is unavailable. No seat is more than from the 30' × 64' stage. The theatre has a relatively low ceiling at stage level Wintuk created exclusively for Wamu Theater at Madison Square Garden - Press Release - cirquedusoleil.com - November 7, 2007 and all of its seating except for boxes on the two side walls is on one level slanted back from the stage. There is an lobby at the theater. When the current Garden opened in 1968, the Theater was known as the Felt Forum, in honor of then president Irving Felt. In the early 1990s, at the bequest of Garden owner Paramount Communications, the theater was renamed the Paramount after the Paramount Theatre in Times Square had been converted to an office tower. The theater received its next name of The Theater at Madison Square Garden in the mid-90s, after Viacom bought Paramount, and sold the MSG properties to a group consisting of ITT and Cablevision, which each owned 50% of the Garden. In 1997, ITT sold their share to Cablevision, giving the cable company full control of the venue. The fall 1999 Jeopardy! Teen Tournament as well as a Celebrity Jeopardy! competition were held at the theater. In 2004, it was the venue of the finale. On May 17, 2007, the theater was renamed the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden, due to a naming rights deal with Washington Mutual. Since Washington Mutual is no longer a bank after being seized by the Office of Thrift Supervision and FDIC and sold to JP Morgan Chase, the WaMu name was dropped in 2009, reverting to The Theater at Madison Square Garden. WaMu Theaters name likely to change due to financial crisis Since 2001, the Theater has been the site of the NBA Draft.
- The Expo Center (formerly known as "The Rotunda") is used for trade shows, cat shows, stamp shows, often in combination with the arena, banquets, and receptions.
- A terrace and two restaurants: the Garden Club and the Play-by-Play.
Notable firsts and significant events
The Garden hosted the Stanley Cup Finals and NBA Finals simultaneously on two occasions: in 1972 and 1994. MSG hosted the following All-Star Games:- 1994 NHL All-Star Game
- 1998 NBA All-Star Game
- WNBA All-Star Games in 1999, 2003, and 2006
- NBA Finals:
- *: The Knicks won their championship at Madison Square Garden.
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- *: The San Antonio Spurs won their championship at Madison Square Garden.
- Stanley Cup Finals:
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- *: The Rangers won their championship at Madison Square Garden.