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Madison Square Garden
MSG, The Garden, The World's Most Famous Arena
The facade of Madison Square Garden seen from Eighth Avenue in 2009.
Location	Pennsylvania Plaza 7th Ave. btn. W. 31st & 33rd Sts. Midtown Manhattan (Postal address: 4 Penn Plz. New York, NY 10121-0101 United States)
Coordinates	40°45′2″N 73°59′37″W / 40.75056°N 73.99361°W / 40.75056; -73.99361Coordinates: 40°45′2″N 73°59′37″W / 40.75056°N 73.99361°W / 40.75056; -73.99361
Broke ground	October 29, 1964[1]
Opened	Former locations: 1879, 1890, 1925 Current location: February 11, 1968
Renovated	1991
Owner	Madison Square Garden, Inc.
Operator	The Madison Square Garden Company
Construction cost	$123 million Renovation: $200 million
Architect	Charles Luckman Associates Brisbin Brook Beynon Architects
Structural engineer	Severud Associates[2]
Services engineer	Syska & Hennessy, Inc.[3]
General Contractor	Turner/Del E. Webb[3]
Capacity	Basketball: 19,763 Ice hockey / Lacrosse: 18,200 Concert: 20,000 Boxing : 20,789 Wrestling : 22,292 The Theater at Madison Square Garden: 5,600
Tenants
New York Rangers (NHL) (1968–present) New York Knicks (NBA) (1968–present) New York Liberty (WNBA) (1997–2010, 2014–future) New York Titans (NLL) (2007–2009) New York Knights (AFL) (1988) New York CityHawks (AFL) (1997–1998) Big East Men's Basketball Tournament (NCAA) (1983–present) St. John's Red Storm (NCAA) (1969–present)

The Seventh Avenue entrance to Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden (MSG), known colloquially as the Garden and The World's Most Famous Arena, 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.

Opened 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 music arena in the world in terms of ticket sales, behind Manchester Arena, Manchester and The O2 Arena, London, both in the United Kingdom.^[4]

As of the start of the 2010–11 NHL season and 2010–11 NBA season, Madison Square Garden is the oldest arena in the NHL, and the second oldest in the NBA, following Oracle Arena, in Oakland.

History[link]

On February 11, 1968,^[5] 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 the platforms of an active railroad station. It was an engineering feat constructed by Robert E. McKee of El Paso, Texas. Public outcry over the demolished Pennsylvania Station structure—an outstanding example of Beaux-Arts architecture—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 Rangers and Knicks to 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 NHL and NBA teams (the New Jersey Devils, and the New Jersey Nets respectively). The NFL's New York Giants and Jets also relocated there. Felt's efforts fueled controversy between the Garden and New York City over real estate taxes. 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 taxes. 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 2004–2005, Cablevision battled with the City of New York over the proposed West Side Stadium, which would compete with the Garden. New stadium proposals were 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. MSG executives decided to again renovate and modernize the current Garden in time for the Rangers and Knicks' 2011–12 seasons,^[6] 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. While the Knicks and Rangers will not be displaced, the Liberty will play at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey during the renovation. The newly transformed lower bowl opened on October 27, 2011, with features including new lower-lever luxury suites and clubs. The number of restroom facilities was also increased, and following the renovations the quantity and variety of food options will also increase.

The right side of Madison Square Garden (photographed in August 2011)

Present operations[link]

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.

The Garden during "Mark Messier Night", January 12, 2006

The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus and Disney on Ice will relocate to Barclays Center when it opens in 2012, leaving the Garden with at least nine open dates.^{[citation needed]}

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 Marley moved boxing to Las Vegas, Madison Square Garden was considered the mecca of boxing. The original 18½' × 18½' (5.6 m × 5.6 m) 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' (6 m × 6 m) 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. 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. A 1971 rock and roll revival concert at the Garden, featuring Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and Ricky Nelson, during Nelson was reportedly booed when he tried to play newer material, is thought to have been the inspiration for his 1972 hit single "Garden Party" The Garden usually hosts a concert each year on New Year's 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 62 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."

The Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special was a 2001 New York City revue show by American megasuperstar Michael Jackson. It took place on September 7, 2001 and September 10, 2001. In late November 2001, the CBS television network aired the concerts as a two-hour special in honor of Michael Jackson's thirtieth year as a solo entertainer (his first solo single, "Got to Be There", was recorded in 1971). The show was edited from footage of two separate concerts Michael had orchestrated in New York City's Madison Square Garden on September 7 and September 10 of 2001. The shows sold out in five hours. Ticket prices were pop's most expensive ever; the best seats cost $5,000 and included a dinner with Michael Jackson and a signed poster. Jackson reportedly earned $7.5 million for each of the two concerts, which is over $150,000 per minute. 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.^[7]

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.

Seating[link]

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.

Court set for St. John's basketball game

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.

The capacity for basketball has gone as followed^[8]:

• 19,500 (1968–1971)
• 19,588 (1971–1972)
• 19,694 (1972–1978)
• 19,591 (1978–1989)
• 18,212 (1989–1990)
• 19,081 (1990–1991)
• 19,763 (1991–present)

The capacity for hockey has gone as followed^[9]:

• 17,250 (1968–1972)
• 17,500 (1972–1990)
• 16,792 (1990–1991)
• 18,200 (1991–present)

Other venues[link]

Today's Madison Square Garden is more than just the arena. Other venues at the Garden include:

The Theater at Madison Square Garden[link]

The Theater at Madison Square Garden seats between 2,000 and 5,600 for concerts and can also be used for meetings, stage shows, and graduation ceremonies, 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 hosted the NBA Draft from 2001 to 2010. The theater also occasionally hosts major boxing matches on nights when the main arena is unavailable. 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 Survivor: All Stars finale.

No seat is more than 177 feet (54 m) from the 30' × 64' stage. The theatre has a relatively low 20-foot (6.1 m) ceiling at stage level^[10] 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 8,000-square-foot (740 m²) 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 behest of then-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. In 2007, the theater was renamed the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden, due to a naming rights deal with Washington Mutual. After Washington Mutual's failure in 2009, the name reverted to The Theater at Madison Square Garden.^[11]

Others[link]

• The 36,000-square-foot (3,300 m²) Expo Center (formerly known as "The Rotunda") is used for trade shows, car shows, stamp shows, often in combination with the arena, banquets, and receptions.
• A 9,500-square-foot (880 m²) terrace and two restaurants: the Garden Club and the Play-by-Play.

Current Renovation[link]

Madison Square Garden seen during the first hockey game after completion of Stage 1 of the Transformation, featuring the complete renovation of the lower bowl

Madison Square Garden's $850 million second renovation will take place mainly over three offseasons. The more significant portion of it was set to begin after the 2009–10 hockey/basketball seasons, but was delayed until after the 2010–11 seasons. New features include a larger entrance that will include interactive kiosks, retail, climate controlled space, and broadcast studio; larger concourses; new lighting and LED video systems with HDTV; new seating; two new pedestrian walkways suspended from the ceiling to allow fans to look directly down onto the games being played below; more dining options; and improved dressing rooms, locker rooms, green rooms, upgraded roof, and production offices, among other upgrades.

The in-arena walkways will be eliminated, and portals will be installed between each section. The lower bowl concourse (to be known as the Madison Concourse) will remain on the 6th floor. The upper bowl concourse will be relocated to the 8th floor, and will be known as the Garden Concourse. The seventh floor will house the new Madison Suites. The upper bowl will be built on top of these suites. Existing 300 and 400 level seating will be combined to create the new upper bowl.

Construction of the lower bowl (Phase One) was completed for the 2011–2012 NHL and NBA seasons. An extended off-season for the Garden permitted some advanced work to begin on the new upper bowl, which is scheduled to be completed for the 2012–2013 seasons. This advance work includes the West Balcony on the 10th floor, taking the place of sky-boxes, and new end-ice 300 level seating.

Plans are underway to relocate systems in the periphery of the arena to permit city views. Renovation will be done in phases with the majority done in the summer months to minimize disruptions and will remain operational throughout the NHL and NBA seasons. While the Rangers and Knicks will not be displaced, the Liberty will play their home games through the 2012-13 season at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey during the renovation.^[12][13] Because of the renovation, the Rangers started the 2011-12 NHL season with seven games on the road before playing their first home game on October 27.^[14]

Notable firsts and significant events[link]

In 1980, the Garden hosted the first World judo championships for women, Jane Bridge (UK) in 48 kg won the gold medal. In 1990, Andrew Dice Clay became the only comedian in history to sell out Madison Square Garden two nights in a row. In 2009, MSG hosted the second longest NCAA men's basketball game when the Syracuse Orange and Connecticut Huskies went into six overtimes in the Big East Men's Basketball Tournament.

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:

• 1973 NHL All-Star Game
• 1994 NHL All-Star Game
• 1998 NBA All-Star Game
• WNBA All-Star Games in 1999, 2003, and 2006

MSG hosted the following championship rounds:

• NBA Finals:
  • 1970: The Knicks won their championship at Madison Square Garden.
  • 1972
  • 1973
  • 1994
  • 1999: The San Antonio Spurs won their championship at Madison Square Garden.

• Stanley Cup Finals:
  • 1972: The Boston Bruins won their championship at Madison Square Garden.
  • 1979
  • 1994: The Rangers won their championship at Madison Square Garden.

Notable concerts[link]

• The Doors performed here on January 24, 1969 to a sell out crowd. In 1970 they played to four straight sell out crowds on January 17 and 18 at the Felt Forum later released as Live in New York (The Doors live album).
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience played a sold out show here, 18 May 1969.
• Britney Spears has visited the garden many times, and has sold out the arena for all shows which she had there. In 2009, during her The Circus Starring Britney Spears tour, she sold out 3 back-to-back shows in 43 seconds. She also set an attendance record for any event, musical or non-musical, of around 22,000 per show.
• Janet Jackson has performed 13 concerts at this venue on five concert tours.
• Madonna has performed at the Garden 29 times in her career, beginning in 1985 with The Virgin Tour. All 29 shows have sold out.
• Lady Gaga sold out 5 back-to-back shows at the Garden during her The Monster Ball Tour. She has played The Garden a total of 7 times.
• Iron Maiden have played at the venue multiple times beginning in 1982 up till the most recent The Final Frontier World Tour in 2010.^[15]
• Phish: Is known for their New Year's Eve Concerts at The Garden in '95, '97, '98, '02, '10 and '11. Phish has played the Garden a total of 23 times since 1994. New Year's Eve shows are famous for selling out within minutes.
• The Rolling Stones performed at The Garden a total of 24 times between the years 1969 and 2006. Most of the live performance segments of the 1970 film, "Gimme Shelter" were filmed there, and a concert on the "Licks Tour" in 2003 was broadcast live on HBO and later released on DVD. Their concert on July 26, 1972 was the final show of their legendary 1972 North American Tour to promote the classic album, "Exile On Main Street."
• Elton John has performed a record breaking 62 sold-out performances at The Garden as of 2011. He performed his 60th performance for his 60th birthday on March 25, 2007.
• Lynn Anderson was the first female country artist to headline and sell-out The Garden in 1974.
• The Spice Girls performed twice at The Garden. First time, July 1, 1998 during their Spiceworld Tour, selling out the venue in 12 minutes, the first band to do that. Then, they performed again on February 18, 2008, during their Return of the Spice Girls Tour.
• Elvis Presley performed here four times in three straight days June 9 through June 11, 1972. He gave three night shows and an afternoon show on June 10. An album, Elvis: As Recorded at Madison Square Garden, was released after the concert, on June 18, 1972. In 1997 the afternoon show was released as An Afternoon in the Garden. All four shows were sold out.
• Angelica Maria, the first Mexican recording artist to headline and sell out MSG, is the only artist to perform two sold-out concerts at the Garden on the same day, which she did in 1975.
• Michael Jackson performed here twice on September 7, 2001 and September 10, 2001 for his 30th Anniversary Special. The shows sold out in just five hours.
• Pearl Jam have performed two-night stands at the Garden in September 1998, July 2003, June 2008 and May 2010.
• Bon Jovi: Have played the venue seven times since 2005.
• Metallica: Performed one of their four S&M shows at Madison Square Garden with the orchestra of St. Lukes on November 23, 1999.
• Billy Joel played a record of twelve sold-out concerts in a row at The Garden which were recorded on his 12 Gardens Live album.

Human Nature by Ivete Sangalo.

• Ivete Sangalo: the first brazilian artist to performe a headline show and sell out "The Garden" on September 4, 2010 with 15 thousand people and with special featuring of Nelly Furtado, Seu Jorge, Juanes and Diego Torres, on her first South American arena tour. Later released on DVD and Blu-ray (third live DVD her): IS Multishow ao Vivo: Ivete Sangalo no Madison Square Garden.
• Rammstein: The band's first performance in America in 10 years as part of their Liebe ist für alle da Tour on December 11, 2010. Tickets were sold out in less than 30 minutes.
• The Beatles: The Garden is the only venue that each of the four former members of The Beatles played solo concerts after the breakup of the band – although not at the same time.
• Led Zeppelin: They played a total of 15 times in 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977. Sold out the venue three consecutive nights in the summer of 1973.^[16] On their 1977 tour they played six sold-out dates in June, it was meant to be only four nights, but the demand was so great that they had to add other two nights.
• Cream: Played a series of shows after their reunion gigs at the Royal Albert Hall, in 2005.
• Raphael: Played for the first time in 1969.
• The Grateful Dead: Played 56 concerts including four in the Felt Forum in 1971.
• Queen: The band's first concert at the Garden in February 1977 sold out within moments.^[17]
• Slipknot: The Grammy-award winning hard rockers played at Madison Square Garden for the first time on February 5, 2009 for the 10th anniversary of their first studio album^[18]
• Guns N' Roses: Played three nights at Madison Square Garden during the Use Your Illusion Tour on December 9, 10 and 13 1991. And they played again during the Chinese Democracy Tour in 2002 and 2006. All of these shows were sold out.
• Dave Matthews Band: Has played The Garden 17 times since 1996, most recently on November 12 and 13, 2010.
• Coldplay: Played a free show to a sold-out crowd June 23, 2008.
• Green Day: Played 3 times at The Garden, December 5, 1994 (concert which singer Billie Joe played one song completely naked) and two sold-out consecutive nights in July 27 and 28, 2009.
• Jethro Tull: Have played Madison Square Garden a total of eighteen times, the first being in 1971, and the last being in 1980. Their 1978 show at Madison Square Garden was the first concert to be broadcast live via satellite across the Atlantic Ocean. The same show was also released as a live album and live DVD in 2009.
• AC/DC : Played there during their Black Ice world tour.
• Rihanna: First woman of the Caribbean to ever sell out the Garden, she performed a sold out show for her Last Girl on Earth Tour, promoting Rated R – the most critically acclaimed album of her career.
• R.E.M. Played the venue eight times. In 1989 twice, in 1995 three times, 2003, 2004 and on their final tour in 2008.
• Linkin Park: Played there twice. Once in 2008 for their Minutes to Midnight Tour, and once in 2011 for the A Thousand Suns Tour.
• Tenacious D: Played there in 2006 for the first time. The concert recording was released November 4, 2008 on The Complete Master Works 2.
• The Jonas Brothers: This notable band gave three consecutive shows at Madison Square Garden as part of their Burnin' Up Tour in August 2008, selling out the three days. "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience" was filmed there. They featured artist such as Demi Lovato, Robert Schwartzman and Taylor Swift. These famous brothers sold out the three performances in less than 1 hour, each performance was sold out in 10 minutes. They became the youngest band to sell out the Garden.
• Taylor Swift: The teen country singer sold out the Garden in August 2009 at her Fearless Tour. She sold out the Garden in 1 minute. On November 22, 2011 at her Speak Now World Tour she sold out in 59 seconds.
• P!nk: The American pop star sold out The Garden on October 5, 2009 on her first North American arena tour. Apart of the Funhouse Tour.
• LCD Soundsystem: Played their last show ever to a sold-out crowd on April 2, 2011. The band played for over 3 hours and invited several guests on stage.
• Justin Bieber: He featured notable artist such as Boyz II Men, Miley Cyrus, Jaden Smith, Usher and Sean Kingston. "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" his movie was filmed there. It took 22 minutes for Justin Bieber to sell out the Garden. He is the youngest solo artist to ever perform at the Garden.
• Yes: Selling-out their record 16th consecutive concert at Madison Square Garden during their 1980 Drama Tour, the ground-breaking British progressive rock band surpassed Led Zeppelin for that honor. The "most consecutive sold-out concerts at MSG" title was later won by the Grateful Dead in the late '80s.
• Parliament-Funkadelic performed numerous sold out shows at the Garden between 1976 and 1979.
• Supertramp sold out Madison Square Garden on May 31, 1979 and was presented with their first platinum record awards there, followed by an after party to celebrate the sell out.
• Jay-Z: Jay-Z performed at the Garden on November 23, 2003 in what was billed as his "retirement party." The concert at the venue was later featured in his Fade to Black documentary. Beyoncé, his wife, has performed many sold out shows in the Garden on both her I Am... Tour and The Beyoncé Experience World Tour.
• Jacky Cheung: First Chinese artist performed at the Garden during his Yau Hok Yau" (友學友), literally a pun of "friendship Jacky Cheung" world tour in 1995.
• Oasis: Played Madison Square Garden for the first time on June 22, 2005. The last time was on December 17, 2008 during the Dig Out Your Soul world tour.
• 'N Sync: Performed at Madison Square Garden in 2000 for their No Strings Attached tour in honor of the release of their 2nd studio album "No Strings Attached"
• SM Town performed in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden on October 23, 2011.
• Foo Fighters performed on February 19, 2008 & November 13, 2011.
• The Kinks performed on Oct 3, 1981 – sixteen years after their first American appearance (and subsequent four-year ban) – and headlined again on Dec 21, 1984.
• Dispatch (Band): The only independent band to ever sell out Madison Square Garden. In 2007 the band after being broken up for five years announced a benefit show to help humanitarian aid in Zimbabwe. The concert was held on June 13, 2007. The concert sold out in minutes, and the band added two additional dates – June 14 and 15.
• KISS sold out MSG four nights in a row 7/25–7/28 on their 1996 Reunion Tour.
• Swedish House Mafia: The first Electronic Dance act to perform in Madison Square Garden December 16, 2011. It took 10 minutes for the Swedes to sell out the Garden. This concert was also broadcast live on the Fuse TV YouTube channel.
• L'Arc-en-Ciel: The legendary Japanese band, which has sold over 40 million records worldwide, played a sold out live show on March 25, 2012 as part of their 20th L'Anniversary World Tour 2012. They are the first Japanese band to hold a stand-alone performance in the venue.^[19][20]
• Nickelback:played there for the first time on their here and now tour in 2012.

Other music legends like Cher, Usher, Frank Sinatra, Eminem, Beyoncé, Whitney Houston, Jessica Simpson, Mariah Carey, Barbra Streisand, Alicia Keys, Shakira, Nelly Furtado, Depeche Mode, U2, The Killers, Pink Floyd, Blink 182, The Who, Deep Purple, The Osmonds, and Muse performed many times at the venue.

WWE at the Garden[link]

The Garden has hosted many WWE wrestling events over the years including the very first WrestleMania in 1985, WrestleMania X in 1994, and WrestleMania XX in 2004. Other events include the first SummerSlam in 1988 along with SummerSlam 1991 and 1998; three Survivor Series events in 1996, 2002 and 2011; and the Royal Rumble in 2000 and 2008. In 2005, WWE severed business ties with the Garden because WWE felt that increased rental costs would prevent them from making a profit in the building.^{[citation needed]} However, over a year later, the issues were temporarily patched up and the hiatus ended with a September 11, 2006 edition of Raw, ECW and Heat.

Though they pulled the twentieth annual SummerSlam, which would have been held at the Garden on August 26, 2007 (it was held at the Continental Airlines Arena instead), WWE continues to make regular appearances. Raw returned to the Garden on a November 16, 2009 television episode, as well as a Raw house show on June 19, 2010 and a SmackDown house show on September 25, 2010; the latter of which featured the return of Bret Hart to the Garden after an absence of more than a decade. A third Survivor Series event was held at the Garden on November 20, 2011, the event sold out in less than 90 minutes. After seven years of his last match at the Garden The Rock made his in-ring return at Survivor Series.

The WWE Championship has changed hands at the Garden sixteen times, more than in any other arena in the world. In addition WWE's other world championship, the World Heavyweight Championship has changed hands twice at the Garden. Both Vince McMahon, Sr. and Vince McMahon, Jr. were inducted in to the Madison Square Garden walk of fame,^[when?] and altogether four generations of the McMahon family have promoted events at the Garden.^[21] Bruno Sammartino wrestled 211 main events in Madison Square Garden & had 187 sellouts.

Film, television, and popular culture[link]

Pre-Transformation Food court (6th Floor) at Madison Square Garden

As an iconic figure, Madison Square Garden has made various appearances in film and television programs. It was featured in the 1979 Robert Redford film The Electric Horseman. Madison Square Garden is featured in the opening scenes of Highlander (1986), which included footage of former tag team The Fabulous Freebirds. (It is worth noting, however, that only the exterior was used; the interior shots were from the then Brendan Byrne Arena). The Garden's marquee is seen in the 1984 comedy film, Top Secret! advertising a concert by the protagonist, Nick Rivers. In 1988 it featured scenes in the comedy hit Coming to America.

In the film Soylent Green set in an overpopulated New York of 2022, the Garden has been transformed into a government-run assisted suicide facility.

A boxing scene in Batman: The Animated Series takes place in a venue called "Gotham Square Garden".

Madison Square Garden was the "nest" for the carnivorous Godzilla babies and was later destroyed by F/A-18s in the Americanized version of Godzilla (1998). Madison Square Garden was featured in the films Glitter, Forget Paris, Finding Forrester, and the Adam Sandler remake of Mr. Deeds. In Paternity, Burt Reynolds plays the manager of the Garden. In Forget Paris, Billy Crystal (himself a New Yorker) pays an NBA Referee who works a game at the Garden.

In the movie Rocky III, the rematch between Clubber Lang and Rocky Balboa is in the Garden.

Pearl Jam recorded their July 8, 2003 performance at the Garden and released it as the Live at the Garden DVD.

The Wings song, "Rock Show" mentions the arena in the chorus of its lyrics, If there's a rock show at The Concertgebouw/They've got long hair at the Madison Square....

Led Zeppelin's 1976 concert movie The Song Remains The Same was filmed during the band's three-night concert series at Madison Square Garden in 1973, which also provided the soundtrack to the film.

The American sitcom Friends has used shots of Madison Square Garden several times. In the episode The One with George Stephanopoulos, Chandler, Joey, and Ross go to see a Rangers game, in The One with the Late Thanksgiving, Joey and Ross are late to Thanksgiving dinner because they go to see a Rangers game and in The One Where Rachel's Sister Baby-Sits Mike proposes to Phoebe on the big screen during a Knicks game. The Garden was also frequently featured on Seinfeld, as characters sporadically attended Rangers or Knicks games; David Puddy's face-painting as a fan of the New Jersey Devils features the infamous Blue seats.

The 1996 film Eddie starring Whoopi Goldberg, in which die hard Knicks fan Edwina Franklin (Goldberg) becomes the coach of the team, takes place at Madison Square Garden. Interior scenes were filmed inside the Charlotte Coliseum, which was re-dressed to look like the MSG interior.

The arena has also made various appearances on television. The television series Futurama, set in the year 3000, features "Madison Cube Garden" which appears like a cube standing on one partially buried corner.

One of the concert venues in the video game Rock Band is a fictitious New York concert hall called "Empire Square Garden", a clear reference to The Garden.^[22]

In the anime Katekyo Hitman Reborn!, the character Ryohei Sasagawa, obsessed with boxing said he always saw stars and the Madison Square Garden, even when it was the afternoon.

Madison Square Garden was also featured in Madonna's 2005 CD/DVD I'm Going to Tell You a Secret. The DVD is a documentary that follows Madonna on her 2004 Re Invention Tour. It was also featured in Madonna's 2009 CD/DVD/BLU-RAY disc Sticky & Sweet Tour.

The demolition of Penn Station to make way for Madison Square Garden was featured in the Mad Men Season 3 episode "Love Among the Ruins".

Scenes in both the romantic comedies Hitch and "How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days" take place at Madison Square Garden during a Knicks basketball game.

The Garden was also featured in the Spider-Man 2 video game where the player is allowed in temporarily to complete an obstacle course.

A scene from the pilot episode of the CBS series Blue Bloods was filmed inside and outside of the Garden during Jamie's graduation ceremony.

In Adam Sandler's Little Nicky the Harlem Globetrotters play at the Garden and the referee is Nicky's brother.

In the Hollywood hit Godzilla, two USAF fighter jets fire a few missiles into the building, which happen to be an egg nest. The resulting blast supposedly destroys all the remaining eggs and babies present in the area.

The Madison Square Garden marquee is world famous in its own right as it is featured on television coverage of sporting events played inside.

In the ending of the film Lemonade Mouth the band is shown playing in Madison Square Garden.

The Garden was the location of the teen sensations' films The Jonas Brothers and Justin Bieber.

Madison Square Garden was featured as a backdrop in the sixth season of How I Met Your Mother. Robin's long lost friend, Jessica, plays the Garden organ during a Rangers game. However, the real Garden organist would never play Let's Go Band during a Rangers Game.

In early 2011 Lady Gaga filmed a 'fly on the wall' documentary for HBO following her life and featured a performance at MSG of her Monster Ball Tour.

See also[link]

New York City portal

• Madison Square
• Madison Square Garden (1879)
• Madison Square Garden (1890)
• Madison Square Garden (1925)
• Madison Square Garden Bowl

References[link]

Notes

Bibliography

• McShane, Larry. "Looking Back at 125 Years of Madison Square Garden". NYC.gov. http://www.nycvisit.com/content/index.cfm?pagePkey=1255. Retrieved August 7, 2005. 
• "MSG: Corporate Information". http://www.thegarden.com/inandaroundgarden_corporate.html. Retrieved August 7, 2005. 
• "Rent The Garden". Archived from the original on March 5, 2005. http://web.archive.org/web/20050305025746/http://www.thegarden.com/Rentthegarden/general_venue_capacity.html. Retrieved August 7, 2005. 
• Bagli, Charles V. (September 12, 2005). "Madison Square Garden's Owners Are in Talks to Replace It, a Block West". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/12/nyregion/12garden.html. 
• Huff, Richard (August 22, 2006). "Arena's the Star of MSG Revamp". Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/441545p-371931c.html. 
• Anderson, Dave (February 19, 1981). "Sports of the Times; Dues for the City". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1981/02/19/sports/no-headline-011498.html?&pagewanted=print. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Madison Square Garden

• Official Site
• MSG Network – tv
• The Madison Square Garden Company
• "A Garden Built For Tomorrow," Sports Illustrated, January 2, 1967.
• Madison Square Garden under construction from the Hagley Digital Archives
• The Concert Database
• Beach, Chandler B., ed. (1914). The New Student's Reference Work. Chicago: F. E. Compton and Co.. Wikisource 
• Madison Square Garden Seating Charts