22 Facts About Madison Square Garden

1.

Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City.

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2.

Madison Square is formed by the intersection of 5th Avenue and Broadway at 23rd Street in Manhattan.

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3.

Two venues called Madison Square Garden were located just northeast of the square, the original Garden from 1879 to 1890, and the second Garden from 1890 to 1925.

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4.

Madison Square Garden II was unsuccessful like the first Garden, and the New York Life Insurance Company, which held the mortgage on it, decided to tear it down in 1925 to make way for a new headquarters building, which would become the landmark Cass Gilbert-designed New York Life Building.

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5.

Third Madison Square Garden opened in a new location, on 8th Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, from 1925 to 1968.

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6.

Madison Square Garden owners spent $200 million in 1991 to renovate facilities and add 89 suites in place of hundreds of upper-tier seats.

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7.

Cablevision then announced plans to raze the Madison Square Garden, replace it with high-rise commercial buildings, and build a new Madison Square Garden one block away at the site of the James Farley Post Office.

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8.

Madison Square Garden is the last of the NBA and NHL arenas not to be named after a corporate sponsor.

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9.

Madison Square Garden is seen as an obstacle in the renovation and future expansion of Penn Station, which expanded in 2021 with the opening of Moynihan Train Hall at the James Farley Post Office, and some have proposed moving MSG to other sites in western Manhattan.

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10.

Finally, Diller Scofidio + Renfro proposed a mixed-use development on the site, with spas, theaters, a cascading park, a pool, and restaurants; Madison Square Garden would be moved two blocks west, next to the post office.

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11.

Madison Square Garden rejected the notion that it would be relocated, and called the plans "pie-in-the-sky".

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12.

In October 2014, the Morgan facility was selected as the ideal area for Madison Square Garden to be moved, following the 2014 MAS Summit in New York City.

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13.

Madison Square Garden was home of the NBA Draft and NIT Season Tip-Off, as well as the former New York City home of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus and Disney on Ice; all four events are now held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

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14.

Many of boxing's biggest fights were held at Madison Square Garden, including the Roberto Duran–Ken Buchanan affair, the first Muhammad AliJoe Frazier bout and the US debut of Anthony Joshua that ended in a huge upset when he was beaten by Andy Ruiz.

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15.

Madison Square Garden has been considered the mecca for professional wrestling and the home of WWE.

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16.

The Madison Square Garden has hosted three WrestleMania events, more than any other arena, including the first edition of the annual marquee event for WWE, as well as the 10th and 20th editions.

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17.

The Madison Square Garden commemorated "The Bakers' Dozen" by adding a Phish themed banner to the rafters.

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18.

Madison Square Garden hosted the Stanley Cup Finals and NBA Finals simultaneously on two occasions: in 1972 and 1994.

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19.

In 1977 Madison Square Garden announced Gold Ticket Awards would be given to performers who had brought in more than 100,000 unit ticket sales to the venue.

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20.

Madison Square Garden gave Platinum Ticket Awards to performers who sold over 250,000 tickets to their shows throughout the years.

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21.

Seating in Madison Square Garden was initially arranged in six ascending levels, each with its own color.

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22.

Madison Square Garden sits directly atop a major transportation hub in Pennsylvania Station, featuring access to commuter rail service from the Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit, as well as Amtrak.

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