Madison Square Garden: Events, Tours and Tickets

Every time one of the giants of show business like Madonna, Lady Gaga, or the Rolling Stones plays a concert in New York, they do it at Madison Square Garden, that huge indoor arena right in the middle of Midtown Manhattan.

It's also the home of major sporting events and other big gatherings like political conventions and Kennel Club shows.

Events at Madison Square Garden

Over the years, sporting events at Madison Square Garden have shared the calendar with arena-sized concerts and other famous shows such as the Barnum Brothers Circus and Cirque du Soleil.

It also hosts political gatherings like the Republican National Convention and is the home of the impressive dog show put on by the Westminster Kennel Club in New York. You can check the events calendar on the arena's website.

If you want to keep up with the events calendar and even buy tickets online, the Superboletería search tool will come in handy (you'll find all kinds of events in New York there).

Home of the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers

Madison Square Garden is home to two famous New York sports teams:

🏀 New York Knicks: the storied NBA basketball team, whose season runs from October through May each year (remember to buy Knicks tickets in advance, the cheap seats go fast!).

🏒 New York Rangers: the NHL ice hockey team, whose intense games you can catch from October through April each year. Rangers tickets are much cheaper, and just as thrilling.

Madison Square Garden Arena Tour

If you want to see behind the scenes at this legendary arena, you can take a Spanish-language tour of the arena called the «All Access Tour«.

You'll walk through this enormous venue, a key chapter in the history of American basketball, and pick up fascinating details like the fact that Elvis Presley and John Lennon both played here, or that in 2015 Pope Francis celebrated a huge Mass in the building.

You'll also visit the locker rooms, the stands, and other iconic spaces inside this famous arena.

History of Madison Square Garden

«The Garden,» as it's known informally in NY, opened in 1968 to host professional basketball, hockey, and boxing events in Midtown West.

Before Las Vegas became the mecca of boxing, that title belonged to Madison Square Garden.

To build the arena, the old Penn Central building, Manhattan's original train station, had to be demolished in 1963, which caused enormous controversy at the time.

Fans of the HBO series Mad Men will remember that, in episode 2 of season three, the promoters behind Madison Square Garden approached Don Draper to ask him to develop a campaign countering the preservationists' attacks on the project.

If you haven't seen it, do. This episode will transport you to the pivotal era when modern New York took shape.

By the way, here's where you'll find several of Don Draper's favorite bars 😜.

Nearby attractions

You'll notice that right next to the Madison Square Garden entrance there's an entrance to the underground Penn Station, a station now in the middle of a sweeping neighborhood overhaul that includes the new Moynihan Train Hall, which you have to see.

Madison Square Garden and Penn Station are also a good jumping-off point for exploring Hudson Yards, the last corner of Manhattan waiting for a facelift.

It's an easy walk, just a few blocks west along 33rd Street toward the Hudson River. Hudson Yards has become a trendy neighborhood with new attractions like the Vessel and the Edge observation deck.

Madison Square Garden is also close to other Manhattan landmarks like the Empire State, the New York Public Library, Bryant Park, and the Flatiron Building.

Address

Between 7th and 8th Avenues and 31st and 33rd Streets

Getting there

Subway lines 1, 2, 3. 34 St – Penn Station
Subway lines B, D, F, M, N, Q, R. 34 St – Herald Square

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