Historic NBA franchise could abandon most valuable US arena in $7.5bn plot as pressure grows

Mar 27, 2026 - 10:15

The New York Knicks are facing calls to vacate Madison Square Garden as part of a Penn Station restoration.

Per Gothamist, “a delegation of politically connected [Donald] Trump supporters floated the plan during a closed-door Oval Office meeting in September.”

Madison Square Garden was built on top of Penn Station

The arena has moved with the times[/caption]

The report claims that the President would take the proposal “seriously” if Knicks owner James Dolan supported it.

MSG sits on top of the iconic transit hub which serves 600,000 New Yorkers daily.

Penn Station was torn down in the 1960s to make room for MSG — the fourth iteration of the building and first on its current site.

Amtrak has responsibility for the transit hub and has outlined three potential futures, one of which is the plan reportedly proposed to the President.

The Grand Penn Community Alliance — a nonprofit financed by wealthy conservative donor Thomas Klingenstein — is behind the plan.

It calls for new entrances decorated with Greco-Roman columns, a large clock and glass roof.

A plaza featuring a fountain and lawn would replace MSG, which would be moved across Seventh Avenue.

Key to the whole operation will be Dolan — the figurehead of his family’s vast media empire, which is worth around $5.5 billion according to Forbes.

He has refused similar proposals for years.

Dolan controls MSG Entertainment, which owns the arena as well as the Knicks and NHL’s New York Rangers.

The site is prime real estate and moving wouldn’t come cheap

“Our millions of fans and thousands of employees love and rely on our location and proximity to public transportation, and don’t want The Garden to move,” MSG Entertainment said in 2023.

“There have been no substantial conversations about moving The Garden since the City granted the last permit ten years ago,” it added.

“In fact, no realistic proposal or financial model for moving The Garden has ever been presented.

“This includes during 2007-2008, when discussion of moving MSG to the Farley Building never came close to being viable due to political and financial considerations, through no fault of MSG’s.”

The stadium has undergone several major upgrades

Trump has a long history in Manhattan real estate and a known fondness for classical architecture.

Per Gothamite, the Grand Penn Community Alliance have placed an estimated outlay of $7.5 billion on the scheme.

The history of Madison Square Garden

MSG has already moved twice since the 10,000-seat original opened at 26th Street and Madison Avenue in 1879 and with billion of dollars available for the project and the proposed location a stone’s throw away the price may be right.

The Knicks’ HQ is the oldest stadium in the NBA and also its most expensive at an estimated $2 billion including refurbishments.

“I can’t quite understand why it’s called Square,” said forme r New York Mayor Eric Adams in 2023. “Maybe we can rename it to Madison Round Garden.”

It also isn’t located on Madison Avenue or much of a garden.

MSG’s second location lacks some its current flair

The answer lies in 1879 and a group of wealthy investors, including the legendary P.T. Barnum — portrayed by Hugh Jackman in The Greatest Showman.

They created an open oval arena with a capacity of 10,000 called the Great Roman Hippodrome, which was renamed Gilmore’s Garden by a later owner before becoming Madison Square Garden in 1879.

It was plagued by issues and demolished in 1889 to make way for a new arena that lasted until 1925 having struggled to make money.

Legendary boxing promoter Tex Rickard wasn’t happy that the storied venue was torn down and assembled a group of investors he dubbed his ‘600 millionaires’ to to fund MSG III at a new location on Eighth Avenue that opened in 1925.

When Penn Station’s owners sold land in 1960, the current building was constructed and stood the test of time with historic events including The Fight of the Century between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali in 1971.

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