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In what appears to be the conclusion of a back and forth that has been ongoing since 2013, Madison Square Garden, "The World's Most Famous Arena" and the most important venue in the history of World Wrestling Entertainment, will not need to vacate its current location and need to be relocated elsewhere in New York City.
During a hearing yesterday, acting MTA Chairman Janno Lieber stated that Madison Square Garden would not be relocated as the negotiations to move the legendary facility, find it a new home and the logistics involved would result in delays that would prevent Penn Station, the train station that contains the Long Island Railroad, New Jersey Transit and Amtrak lines which sits below MSG, from being renovated and having its facilities modernized for "a generation."
Lieber stated there are simply too many “variables” involved, asking “Where would Madison Square Garden move? How would it be funded?”
Back in 2013, the city of New York only renewed MSG's permit to exist and operate above Penn Station, one of Manhattan's top train traffic hubs, for an additional 15 years. At the time, there were forces within NYC's political scene that wanted to see the Arena relocated to somewhere else in Manhattan so that Penn Station.
At the time, Madison Square Garden had been seeking a permanent permit to operate above the Station as at the time, it had just paid millions of dollars for a complete overall and renovation of the legendary facility, which took several years. The MSG renovations were not funded by the city, so at the time, it appeared MSG ownership had just spent a ton on a venue that had a finite lifespan.
For those who don't know the geography, MSG is literally in the center of Manhattan, within walking distance of every major NYC subway line and above the trains from New Jersey and Long Island. This version of MSG is the Arena's third location, having opened in February 1968. It would have been impossible to find another location that could have housed the venue in such a perfect location in NYC.
The Garden, long considered WWE's home arena, has hosted more historic title changes and milestone WWE events than any other dating back to the earliest days of professional wrestling promoted by the McMahon family. It has hosted three Wrestlemanias, including the first, tenth and 20th renditions of the event as well as countless other events, including Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling's G1 Supercard. The Hulu Theater, as it is now known, within the Garden complex, has hosted events from WWE NXT, WCW, GLOW and AAA Lucha Libre.
The cost of moving the arena could have racked up to $8.6 billion dollars, according to yesterday's hearing.
WWE is slated to return to MSG on 12/26.
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