Madison Square Garden

Opened in 1968

About Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden is an NBA and NHL arena in New York, New York. It opened in 1968. It was designed by Charles Luckman, Charles Luckman Associates and Ellerbe Becket. It seats 19,812. Its current tenants are New York Knicks (NBA) and New York Rangers (NHL). Former tenants include New York Raiders (WHA, 1973), New York Golden Blades/Jersey Knights (WHA, 1974) and New York Liberty (WNBA, 1997–2010, 2014–2017). In all, 5 teams from 4 leagues have called it home. By capacity it ranks 7th of 30 current NBA venues and 8th of 32 current NHL venues, counting only venues with a known capacity. On our ranked lists it ranks 132nd oldest of 354 stadiums and arenas still in use and 9th for most tenants among 67 venues with 3 or more teams.

Appears in

Photo of Madison Square Garden
Photo by Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA. License: CC BY 2.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Venue Information

Capacity

19,812

Source: Wikidata

Year Opened

1968

Address

4 Pennsylvania Plaza, New York, New York 10001

Elevation

35 ft

11 m above sea level

Architect

Charles Luckman, Charles Luckman Associates and Ellerbe Becket

Operator

Optimum Communications

Address derived from the venue's coordinates using data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence (ODbL).

Elevation of the venue's coordinates from USGS and NASA SRTM elevation data, via Open Topo Data.

Architect and operator credits from Wikidata.

Capacity by layout

Layout Seats Source
General 19,812 Wikidata
Boxing 20,789 Wikidata
Concert 20,000 Wikidata
Basketball 19,812 Wikidata
Professional wrestling 18,500 Wikidata
Hockey 18,006 Wikidata

Seating capacity depends on how the building is laid out for each event. Figures are the best sourced claim per layout.

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Teams

Home seasons at Madison Square Garden by team, 1968–2026. Bars use each team's colors at the time; the table below lists every season.
Team League Years
New York Knicks
While based here: 59 seasons · 2383-2382 regular season · 35 postseason trips
NBA · 1968–present
  1. Madison Square Garden 1947–1967
  2. Madison Square Garden 1968–present
NBA 1968–present
New York Rangers
While based here: 58 seasons · 2223-1972-387 regular season · 41 postseason trips
NHL · 1968–present
  1. Madison Square Garden 1927–1967
  2. Madison Square Garden 1968–present
NHL 1968–present
New York Liberty
While based here: 18 seasons · 326-268 regular season · 13 postseason trips
WNBA · 1997–2010, 2014–2017
  1. Madison Square Garden 1997–2010
  2. Prudential Center 2011–2013
  3. Madison Square Garden 2014–2017
  4. Westchester County Center 2018–2020
  5. Barclays Center 2021–present
WNBA 1997–2010, 2014–2017
New York Raiders
While based here: 2 seasons · 65-85-6 regular season · no postseason trips
WHA · 1973–1974
  1. Madison Square Garden 1973–1974
  2. Cherry Hill Arena 1974
  3. San Diego International Sports Center 1975–1977
WHA 1973–1974

Records are each team's full-season results while it was based here, home and away games alike, from final scores. They are not records of games played at this venue.

NHL records count overtime and shootout losses as losses.

A season split between two home venues counts in full at each.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the capacity of Madison Square Garden?

The capacity of Madison Square Garden is 19,812.

When was Madison Square Garden built?

Madison Square Garden opened in 1968.

Who designed Madison Square Garden?

Madison Square Garden was designed by Charles Luckman, Charles Luckman Associates and Ellerbe Becket.

Who operates Madison Square Garden?

Madison Square Garden is operated by Optimum Communications.

Who plays at Madison Square Garden?

Madison Square Garden is the home venue of New York Knicks, New York Rangers.

Where did the New York Liberty play after Madison Square Garden?

After leaving Madison Square Garden in 2017, the New York Liberty moved to Westchester County Center in 2018. They played there until 2020.

Where did the New York Golden Blades/Jersey Knights play after Madison Square Garden?

After leaving Madison Square Garden in 1974, the New York Golden Blades/Jersey Knights moved to Cherry Hill Arena in 1974. They played there until 1974.

Where did the New York Raiders play after Madison Square Garden?

After leaving Madison Square Garden in 1974, the New York Raiders moved to Cherry Hill Arena in 1974. They played there until 1974.

Where did the New York Knicks play before Madison Square Garden?

Before moving to Madison Square Garden in 1968, the New York Knicks played at Madison Square Garden from 1947 to 1967.

Where did the New York Rangers play before Madison Square Garden?

Before moving to Madison Square Garden in 1968, the New York Rangers played at Madison Square Garden from 1927 to 1967.

Sources

Where the facts on this page were read from. How VenueStats compiles them.

Location

Coordinates: 40.7505, -73.9935
View on Google Maps

Nearby Venues

VenueYearsDistance
Madison Square Garden 1925–1968 0.9 mi
Oakland Park 1885–1906 3.4 mi
Union Grounds 1862–1883 3.9 mi
Polo Grounds I 1880–1888 4.0 mi
Metropolitan Park 1884– 4.0 mi
Downing Stadium 1936–2002 4.7 mi

Straight-line distance between the venues' coordinates.

References

Read more on Wikipedia

Every source for the facts on this page is listed under Sources.

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