| Opened: | Feb. 11, 1968 | Home Team: | New York Rangers |
| Owner: | Madison Square Garden Entertainment | Capacity: | 18,006 |
| Location: | 4 Pennsylvania Plaza | Known As: | “The World’s Most Famous Arena” MSG The Garden |
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in Midtown Manhattan from 31st to 33rd Street above Pennsylvania Station. It is the fourth venue to bear the name “Madison Square Garden”; the first two, 1879 and 1890, were located on Madison Square, on East 26th Street and Madison Avenue, with the third Madison Square Garden (1925) farther uptown at Eighth Avenue and 50th Street.
The Garden hosts professional ice hockey, professional basketball, boxing, mixed martial arts, concerts, ice shows, circuses, professional wrestling, and other forms of sports and entertainment. It is close to other midtown Manhattan landmarks, including the Empire State Building, Koreatown, and Macy’s at Herald Square. It is home to the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL), the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and was home to the New York Liberty of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 to 2017.
Originally called Madison Square Garden Center, the Garden opened on Feb. 11, 1968, and is the oldest major sporting facility in the New York metropolitan area. It is the oldest arena in the NBA and the second oldest arena in the NHL. As of 2016, MSG is also the second-busiest music arena in the world regarding ticket sales. Including two major renovations, its total construction cost was approximately $1.1 billion, and it has been ranked as one of the ten most expensive stadium venues ever built. It is part of the Pennsylvania Plaza office and retail complex, named for the railway station. Several other operating entities related to the Garden share its name.
First Games
- Feb. 18, 1968 – Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers (3-1 win)
- Feb. 14, 1968 – Knicks vs. San Diego Rockets (114-102 win)
Notable Events
- Stanley Cup Final – 1972, 1979, 1994, 2014
- NBA Final – 1970, 1972, 1994, 1999
- NHL All-Star Game – 1973, 1994
- NBA All-Star Game – 1998, 2015
- WNBA All-Star Game – 1999, 2003, 2006
- The Challenge Cup – 1979
- UFC 205, UFC 217, UFC 230, UFC 244, UFC 268, UFC 281
- Wrestlemania (1985), Wrestlemania X (1994), Wrestlemania XX (2004)
- Democratic National Convention – 1976, 1980, 1992