Venue Detail
New York Rangers
RSV Pro Facilities Report
February, 2016
New York Rangers
4 Penn Plaza New York, NY 10001 Phone: 212-465-6485 Fax: 212-465-6494 URL: www.newyorkrangers.com Owner: Madison Square Garden League: National Hockey League, Eastern Conference, Metropolitan
Venue
Madison Square Garden, 2 Penn Plz, New York, NY 10121 Owner: Cablevision Systems Corp Managed by: Madison Square Garden Corp Built: 1968 Capacity: 19,763 Permanent concession stands: 24 Concessionaire: Madison Square Garden Suite caterer: Madison Square Garden Soft drink: Coca Cola Beer: Anheuser-Busch InBev
Ticket prices
Season tickets range from $749 to $1,554 Single tickets range from $69.00 to $1,307.00
Attendance
2013 average attendance: 17,200 2014 average attendance: 18,006
Suites
Quantity: 85 Term: 3 to 7 years Price: $400,000 to $630,000 Seats: 12 to 16 Includes: Tickets to Rangers and Knicks games, other events, restaurant membership.
Club seats
Quantity: 2,900 Term: 1 to 1 years Price: $9,240 to $33,750 Includes: Tickets. Prices differ between the Knicks and Rangers. See text below.
Financing
Original construction information is not available, but a $200 million renovation in 1990 was privately financed.
Madison Square Garden officials unveiled the second phase in the arena's $980 million, three-year renovation in the summer of 2012, showing off new luxury suites, improved sightlines and a wider concourse in the upper section.
The arena's upper bowl was reconstructed to move fans closer to the floor. The slope was increased by 17 degrees, bringing the seats about 10 feet closer to the action. That change paved the way for an expanded eighth floor concourse that features an industrial look, city views and more room for concessions.
The reconfigured upper bowl also includes the return of the Garden's fabled blue seats, which will be located in a section on the west side of the building.
The work includes the new Madison Club, an all-inclusive members-only area that is the size of 10 suites. The 164 seats in the club go for about $40,000 each, and come with entry to all Knicks, Rangers, college basketball, boxing, tennis and other sports events held at the Garden.
Fifty-eight new luxury suites were added to the arena's seventh floor, approximately 23 rows up for hockey and 30 rows for basketball.
A pair of sky bridges span the playing floor five stories above the playing surface.
“This is our signature element. It will be a unique experience in sports and entertainment,” Hank Ratner, CEO of Madison Square Garden, said.
The Garden wrapped up the first phase of its $980 million top-to-bottom overhaul in 2011, adding new court-side suites, two clubs for elite season ticket holders called the 1879 Club and the Delta Club and revamping the locker rooms for the Knicks and Rangers.
Among premium offerings are 68 wide, cushioned seats luxury club seats situated in the center section of the west balcony. The seats are connected to table tops with in-seat beverage service and a high-end lounge behind the section.
Bookending the lounge club seats are six new group hospitality lounges. Each lounge has 28 fixed seats and 14 bar stools, and they can be combined into larger spaces, Howard said.
The lounges are reserved for Knicks and Rangers game packages and single-night rentals. The starting price is about $4,000 a game for Knicks and Rangers games, a cost covering tickets, food and nonalcoholic beverages.
The Garden has benefited from a permanent property tax exemption worth more than $11 million, enacted more than 25 years ago, when previous owners threatened to move its teams out of the city. In 2008, the City Council passed a resolution asking the Legislature to revoke it and Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he'd oppose any effort to continue it should the arena move to the new site west of the train station.
The current Garden, which opened in 1968, sits on the site of the original Pennsylvania Station, which was torn down by the Pennsylvania Railroad after it sold the site's development rights. The demise of the Beaux Arts station triggered the city's landmark preservation movement.
Observers say the Garden doesn't have many of the amenities of modern buildings and its design makes it difficult for promoters. Among the problems is that the performance floor is five stories above ground level, meaning equipment for shows must fit in and be moved up in elevators.
In 2009, Cablevision Systems Corp. decided to spin Madison Square Garden, the NHL Rangers and NBA Knicks into a separate company. The new firm is owned by existing shareholders.
The new company is called Madison Square Garden and includes Radio City Music Hall.
Splitting off Madison Square Garden will allow Cablevision to focus on its more profitable cable- television business and could lure potential buyers for the company.
The suite price includes 12 tickets for every event at the Garden; catering to the suites is extra.
Club seats vary in price. For the Knicks, the price ranges from $9,240 to $12,540. For the Rangers the price ranges from $5,280 to $6,600. Luxury suite and club seat patrons have access to two restaurants, the Club Bar & Grill and the Play By Play Sports Bar and Restaurant. (Facilities, Ice Hockey, NHL, Professional Sports, Venue)