What does this mean for MSG?
Steve Hirsch
On Wednesday evening, the New York City Council voted 47-1 in favor of a ten-year limit for Madison Square Garden to operate at its current location.
The New York Times writes “Civic leaders and some developers have long sought to rebuild Penn Station, a cramped and crowded maze for the more than 500,000 people a day who traverse it. But doing so would be an enormously complicated, multibillion-dollar undertaking that has foiled officials in the past. And anything can happen in the next 10 years, including several elections for mayor and governor.
Adam Rotter on SNY’s Rangers Blog discussed an article from the New York Times in February 2012, when Michael Kimmelman wrote that a possible new location for MSG is the site of the Jacob Javits Center on 34th Street and 11th Ave. He noted that Governor Andrew Coumo has proposed that the Javits Center would be knocked down and a new convention center would be built at the Aqueduct Racetrack.
“It would stand at the northern culmination of the completed High Line, and at the doorstep of a redeveloped Hudson Yards, where the new extension of the No. 7 subway line from Times Square will stop,” Kimmelman said.
James Dolan issued the following statement on Wednesday afternoon: “Madison Square Garden has operated at its current site for generations, and has been proud to bring New Yorkers some of the greatest and most iconic moments in sports and entertainment. We now look forward to the reopening of the arena in the fall of 2013.”
Deadspin notes that MSG will have an opportunity to re-apply for a permit to stay in their current location.