James Dolan is proposing a spinoff of the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers into separate publicly traded companies. (
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Madison Square Garden and I go way back.
I attended my first event there on Sunday night, Nov. 17, 1968 – when the Rangers hosted the Montreal Canadiens. The rest of the New York sports world was watching on channel 4 what became known as The “Heidi” Game. The Oakland Raiders defeated the Jets with late-game scores after NBC left the action to air a scheduled broadcast of the movie “Heidi.”
Then I saw more Knick s and Rangers games than I could remember. I also attended historic concerts by The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and The Band and The Who at Madison Square Garden. My memories of the self-proclaimed World’s Most Famous Arena have given me thrills and chills over the years. I think of MSG as an extended member of my family because it has so been a part of my happy memories.
So, I didn’t know how to react immediately recently when I learned that Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. (MSGS), the parent company, announced its board unanimously approved considering a spin-off to separate the Knicks and the Rangers into individual, publicly traded companies.
Did the proposed move imply that the Knicks and Rangers would have greater financial wherewithal and new management – and maybe, just maybe, better opportunities to win titles? The Knicks last won the championship in 1973, the Rangers in 1994. Over the years, both franchises have seen their share of inept management.
And what about ticket prices at the games? The Garden long ago became unaffordable for most New Yorkers who paid their way into sporting events. Would a split mean lower – or still higher! – prices?
Ideally, a restructuring of this magnitude could enhance shareholder value and permit more flexibility in managing the coveted sports holdings.
Dolan’s Angle
James Dolan, the long-time honcho of MSG, seems to have a clear angle here. He could then decide to spend more time and money developing his Sphere behemoth in Las Vegas, which has hosted lavish concerts by U2, the Eagles and Dead & Company (what was left of the beloved Grateful Dead band), and beyond.
In 2024, it was announced that there were plans to build a Sphere in Abu Dhabi, replicating the venue in Las Vegas. It is 366-foot high and 516-foot wide, containing 167,000 speakers, 17,600 seats and a 16K LED screen, according to media reports.
People who have attended shows at the Sphere describe the experience as an unforgettable, unequalled EXPERIENCE, comparable to nothing that came before. They talk about Madison Square Garden as something almost quaint, even though MSG houses roughly 20,000 concertgoers in its own right.
Don’t Hoist Those Championship Banners Just Yet, Folks
Every New York sports fan that I know greeted the news by wondering when the Rangers and Knicks would be hoisting championship banners. We’ll gladly leave the financial implications to the bean-counters and Wall Street dealmakers.
New York is a famously bottom-line sports town. We admired Patrick Ewing’s laudable work ethic and consistency but shook our heads at his inability to win a championship with the Knicks. And Henrik Lundqvist is revered for his acrobatic goaltending and competitiveness but pitied because he couldn’t deliver a Stanley Cup championship to MSG.
Right now, the Knicks are in the middle of the pack of teams vying for the 2026 NBA championship. The team’s prospects look abysmal because the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons – which the Knicks defeated last season in the first round of the playoffs – have thumped the Knicks in every game this season.
The Rangers, for their part, have played so poorly that the team will be lucky just to squeeze its way into the playoffs at all – forget the idea of a Stanley Cup banner this season.
One outcome seems certain: Some people figure to make a pile of money from this kind of financial arrangement. I have no illusions that ticket =prices will come down or the quality of play by my beloved teams will improve drastically in the process.
Is one measly championship too much to ask for?
Jon Friedman defied a local broadcasting blackout and (illegally) watched game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals, when the Knicks won their first NBA championship. He also followed game 7 of the New York Rangers’ 1994 Stanley Cup championship game both by watching it on TV and taping Marv Albert’s radio play by play at the same time.