MSG Entertainment Outlines Its Position On The Garden’s Special Operating Permit And Responds To Misguided Calls To Move The Venue
New York, NY, February 9, 2023 – Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. (‘MSG Entertainment’) submitted its ULURP application to the New York City Department of City Planning, seeking Madison Square Garden’s special operating permit in perpetuity, following the expiration of its current ten-year permit on July 24, 2023.
Madison Square Garden employs thousands of people, serves as a significant driver of the economy generating nearly $2 billion in annual economic benefit to the City, and is home to the most important sports, entertainment and cultural events. No other major stadium or arena in NYC has ever been required to obtain a special permit to operate, and the Company believes it is only appropriate for NYC’s special permit process to be fair and consistent.
Additionally, calls from various parties that link the extension of the permit with an opportunity to move The Garden are misguided. The Company believes ongoing confusion about ownership of The Garden, has contributed to attempts to use the special permit process to fuel discussions surrounding completely unrealistic efforts to move The Garden. The fact is, MSG Entertainment has full ownership of the arena, the land it sits on, and the air above it – there is no public lease of any kind.
Five core points show why now is the time to grant MSG’s special permit in perpetuity:
- According to Empire State Development, any plan to relocate The Garden would cost an estimated $8.5 billion in public funding – an unfathomable figure better used for the City’s many other priorities.
- There have been no substantial conversations about moving The Garden since the City granted the last permit ten years ago. In fact, no realistic proposal or financial model for moving The Garden has ever been presented. This includes during 2007-2008, when discussion of moving MSG to the Farley Building never came close to being viable due to political and financial considerations, through no fault of MSG’s.
- As it relates to the Penn Station complex, Moynihan Station has been beautified on the west side of 8th Avenue and work has begun on substantially improving the east side of Penn Station. None of this work requires The Garden to move.
- Our millions of fans and thousands of employees love and rely on our location and proximity to public transportation, and don’t want The Garden to move.
- We’re the City’s partner on the 2024 Democratic National Convention bid, so the City clearly wants MSG to stay in our location for that event, as well as for the many high-profile events and occasions that bring positive attention, fans, and revenues to New York.
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PUBLIC STATEMENTS SUPPORTING MADISON SQUARE GARDEN REMAINING IN ITS CURRENT LOCATION
New York City Mayor Eric Adams
February 7, 2023 – media availability at an unrelated press conference:
“MSG is a real win for us, it is very much in our DNC plan, it was clear that being able to have an arena that size is allowing us to do some great things. We have our sports teams here, events here – we’re going to factor in the benefit of the city in our decision.”
[When asked if he likes where it is now]: “Madison Square Garden? Yes, I do…I think it’s a great location – 34th Street, Penn Station, people don’t have to drive in. They can use public transportation. You have the 7 line, the A line. It’s just a good place for it to be. I’m happy with it being there.”
October 4, 2022 – interviewed on MSG Network:
“We want The Garden right here. We love them being here and I’m looking forward to many, many more years.”
Tom Wright, president and CEO, Regional Plan Association
January 31, 2023 – as quoted in The New York Times regarding MSG’s special permit:
“My thinking on that has changed quite a lot. I really do believe we can get a really great Penn Station without necessarily moving the Garden.”
December 14, 2022 – speaking at Crain’s New York event: The Penn Station Project: What it means for the Future of NYC:
“For 10 plus years we were pushing for moving Madison Square Garden because we kind of argued you couldn’t create a station without doing that. A few things have changed for me over the last two years on this process and so I’m in a different place right now… The Garden has indicated they want to stay where they are and it makes sense for them to and…actually having an arena like that so close to transit as possible is actually a good thing from a regional perspective. It’s good that those people take transit to get to those events instead of driving or other ways to get there and I think The Garden is a valuable activity and use in that district and so it’s important, it’s an important part of that area. For me, the big change in my thinking of this is over the process of the last few years the MTA, Amtrak and NJ Transit have been consulting and looking at options for how to renovate Penn Station without moving The Garden…And I’ve come to believe that if you can do that without moving The Garden then forcing The Garden to move as part of this process is a big mistake because what you’re doing is adding cost to the whole project – cost to New York State and you’re spending it in an area where, frankly, that money could be better spent in other transit investments and other things.”
New York Former Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch
December 14, 2022 – speaking at Crain’s New York event: The Penn Station Project: What it means for the Future of NYC:
“I have to tell you, with all respect, I think the political opposition to moving The Garden will delay unnecessarily the pacing of federal money that’s required to rebuild Penn, which should be the highest priority.”
Louis Coletti, President and CEO, Building Trades Employers Association
December 14, 2022 – speaking at Crain’s New York event: The Penn Station Project: What it means for the Future of NYC:
“We need to get this going…I am tired of talking about ‘the plan is right, now is the right time to move Madison Square Garden’. It’s not going to happen…”
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