Madison Square Garden Special Permit Limited to Five Years

Tight deadlines have a way of concentrating the mind and forcing you to make tough decisions.

When they tore down Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan—a demolition that began 60 years ago next month—Madison Square Garden was given a 50-year special permit to operate the world’s most famous arena on top of the train tracks, which became an underground rat warren for commuters going through NYC’s busiest transit hub.

This week, NYC sent a different type of message to MSG, and it wasn’t a long-term welcome mat: get on board with the redevelopment of Penn Station or get out of the way.

Two City Council committees voted on Monday to grant a five-year operating permit to Madison Square Garden Entertainment, half the length of the permit that expired last month—and light years away from MSG owner James Dolan’s bid for a permanent permit.

The decision, which is widely expected to be ratified by the full Council next month, gives Dolan a choice: find a way to accommodate plans to wrap a new train station entrance around the Garden or find another location for the fifth iteration of MSG.

City Council members who supported the five-year permit didn’t mince words when it came to addressing MSG’s predicament.

“At this time, the Council cannot determine the long-term viability of an arena at this location, therefore five years is an appropriate term for this special permit,” Erik Bottcher, a Manhattan council member representing a district encompassing MSG, told the New York Times.

In July, the NYC Planning Commission, a majority of whose members are appointed by the mayor, recommended another 10-year special permit—NYC requires permits for any arena with more than 2,500 seats—and said it would require Dolan to sign off on alterations to MSG when 30% of the plans to upgrade Penn Station have been completed.

Dolan’s response to the Planning Commission recommendation was muted. MSG’s response this week to the Council’s decision to cut the length of its permit in half was not.

“A short-term special permit is not in anyone’s best interest and undermines the ability to immediately revamp Penn Station and the surrounding area,” Madison Square Garden said, in a statement. “The committees have done a grave disservice to New Yorkers today, in a shortsighted move that will further contribute to the erosion of the City—that’s true now and will be true five years from now.”

The most famous event at the world’s most famous arena was the first fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in 1971, which became known as the “Fight of the Century.” 

We don’t know if the heavyweight brawl shaping up on Eighth Avenue will earn that moniker for this century, but grab some popcorn and take your seats, folks. The undercard preliminaries are over: here comes the Main Event.