Standing in front of the majestic Madison Square Garden, I was in awe. People of all cultures were taking pictures of everything—from the building itself to themselves posing in front of the building. As I made my way into the arena, I finally understood why MSG was famous as a venue. The explosion of colors and sounds that surrounded my senses was simultaneously overwhelming yet exciting. To be able to share this experience with the twenty thousand other people that instance was truly amazing.
When you hear the name, Madison Square Garden, what comes to mind? Is it the New York Knicks? The Rangers? Other shows or events held in the arena? If this was a multiple choice question, the answer would be: all of the above. Madison Square Garden (MSG) is a multi-purpose arena that proudly holds the title of the most famous arena in the word. Why is that? MSG is a center where many forms of entertainment co-exist to form the ultimate melting pot. Fans and tourists all around the world are able to witness not only women’s and men’s sporting events but also performances from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and concerts from various artists. Recently, MSG has undergone a three-year renovation that consisted of three phases, corresponding to each of the three years. Hank J. Ratner, the President and CEO of The Madison Square Garden Company, aimed to incorporate more of MSG’s unique bowl shaped architecture in addition to improving the fans’ view from the first rows to the last, as part of the one billion dollar renovation.
There was more to the renovation than just increasing revenue as Ratner further explained, “It really was our mission to go to the people of New York and ask them what they wanted. The fans told us what amenities they wanted and we set out to deliver. We also wanted the building to show what it has delivered since 1879. Lots of buildings have history exhibits, but our whole building has it.”
The first phase of 2011-12 included changes to the Madison Concourse (6th floor), lower bowl seating area, event level suits, 8th and 10th floor viewing areas, 1879 Club presented by JPMorgan, locker rooms, Delta Sky360˚ Club at Madison Square Garden, and new places to eat featuring NYC’s top chefs. The second phase of 2012-13 incorporated alterations to the upper bowl seating area, New Garden Concourse (8th floor), Lexus Madison suite level, and added exhibits to feature the long history of events that have occurred at MSG. Ratner felt that it was important to remember the 134 years of memories that people have made during their visit therefore, his team tried to encompass as many pieces both in and on the new building. The final phase of 2013-14 added more “defining moment exhibits”, balcony seating, a new scoreboard, a new Jumbotron, and most importantly, two giant bridges sponsored by Chase that gives fans a state-of-the-art view of what is happening below.
Because the garden is known for its bowl like curves, the two bridges that are 233 feet long by 22 feet wide have been designed to incorporate that feature as well. Like the bridges that connect Manhattan to the rest of New York, these two bridges hang from the ceiling to serve as symbolic reminders. They also fit right into the infrastructure of the bowl and do not look out of place. However, with excited fans, the main concern was sustaining the bridges for safety purposes. Murray Beynon of BBB Architects, the project’s head architect, called the engineering team that created the Grand Canyon skywalk for help. Together, they performed two full-scaled mock-ups to test if the bridges could uphold all the action on and below it. To eliminate the vibration caused by passionate fans, they have installed tuned mass dampeners that counter the movements. The team also focused on other problems including electrical wiring, optimization of space, and improving operations. They were also attentive to the advice and opinions of New Yorkers, whether they were Knicks fans, Rangers fans, or people who have never been to MSG. This was particularly inspiring because the blueprint to building the new MSG included the voice of the people, not only those who funded the project.
As for the before and after, there is no better person to ask than Spike Lee, founder of 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. He has attended every Knicks game (even the away games) for the past several years, his first in 1967 in the “old garden”. According to him, the biggest change was, “The prices! (laughs) I used to have my SGO card; I be sittin’ in the blue. The mezzanine was blue. [Other than that] it’s amazing. It’s great.”
Overall, MSG has been and continues to be a home for many of New York’s best performances from both the entertainment and sports industry. It aims to offer better service everyone at MSG: the fans, athletes and performers. The fan base is also phenomena—people from our city, state, and around the world come together at this arena to share their passion of the event they are attending. In addition to serving as an international land point, the newly rebuilt MSG is also expected to drive economic growth and create more jobs in Manhattan.
Upon the conclusion of the renovation, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo proudly expressed that, “Madison Square Garden is more than a great sports and entertainment arena – it is a globally recognized landmark that is an important part of the fabric that makes New York City the greatest city in the world.”
