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View Full Version : NYC Council Approves Five-Year Permit for Madison Square Garden



Kemo
08-29-2023, 06:23 PM
Madison Square Garden will remain in operation for years to come after a key NYC Council committee approved a five-year renewal.

The special operating permit will see the famed arena continue to welcome guests from all over the world to events. The five-year permit is half of what New York City recommended, and far shorter than the lifetime permit MSG owner James Dolan had pushed for.

In its ruling, the City Council Committee on Land Use stated that long-term plans to redesign Penn Station and ongoing use conflicts between Madison Square Garden and the transit hub prevent the approval of a longer-term permit.

The Dolan family, which owns Madison Square Garden, has long advocated for a permanent operating permit. The original 50-year permit expired in 2013, at which point a ten-year permit was approved.

While Dolan has advocated for a lifetime permit, local lawmakers and community members have backed shorter permits with stipulations ensuring MSG higher-ups cooperate with the redesign of the languishing Penn Station.

The World's Most Famous Arena was the home of WWE shows for decades, and would serve as the host of WrestleManias 1, 10, and 20. The arena has also hosted several other prominent events, including the Royal Rumble in 2000 and 2008, SummerSlam in 1998, 1991, and 1998, and Survivor Series in 1996, 2002, and 2011.

In 2019, that year's ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard became the first non-WWE wrestling event to sell out Madison Square Garden.

This year's SmackDown in MSG saw several records be broken.