#11

Madison Square Garden - New York Rangers


Convenience/Access - Couldn't be better. Located on top of Pennsylvania
Station, North America's busiest train station, MSG is easily accessible
from just about anywhere in the tri-state area. There are over priced
parking garages in the vicinity but there is absolutely no need to drive to
attend a Rangers game, no matter where one is coming from.

Location/Scene - We're talking about the heart of New York City here.
Bars, restaurants and nearly everything else abound.

Outside Appearance - Unique for an arena in that it is round. There are
only windows on the four elevator columns. An arena amongst the urban jungle
of Midtown Manhattan looks pretty cool.

Inner Aesthetics - MSG sports a very unique interior look. The ceiling in
particular, has an interesting spoked wheel look to it, reminding you that
you're in a round building. The seats are very ugly. Prior to a 1991
renovation the Garden's seats were referred to by their color. The reds were
the two digit sections, the oranges were the 100's, the yellows were the
200's, the greens were the 300's, and the blues were the 400's. Since the
renovations the two digit sections are purple, while the rest of the
building's seats are teal. The seats are neither the colors of any team that
calls the arena home nor the most intimidating hues.

Concourse - The hallways of the Garden are small. Some are more narrow
than others. If they pass fire code it must be by the slimmest of margins.
There are very few areas to eat your food if you don't want to eat in your
cramped seats.

Sightlines - The self-proclaimed "World's Most Famous Arena" has the worst
sightlines we've seen. Many older buildings offer a steep set of seats that
often gives the feel of being on top of the play. The Garden couldn't be
more different. The slope of the seats is very gradual. By the time you get
to the 400's you are quite a ways away from the playing surface. There are
two inner walkways, which are great in that you can keep your eyes on the
game while walking to your seat, but you're also blocking the view of others
while doing so. If you're sitting in the front row of the 100's or 300's
you'll have fans and vendors walking in front of you all night. Also the
angles of the seats in relation to the rink are awful. 95% of the building
can't see a thing in the corner nearest to them. The seats are also small
and offer little leg room.

Bathrooms - MSG's bathrooms are small and many are weirdly arranged. When
approaching some Garden lavatories one notices there are two ways into the
space, neither of which are labeled. Many assume that one side is for
entering and the other for exiting. But if you enter the side that appears
to be the exit way you'll find stalls and urinals that are on a different
side from the rest of the bathroom that none of the people going through the
"enter" side are spilling into. Many people are miffed to see people
seemingly cut the line to enter what looks like the exit. These people are
merely going to the lightly used side of the bathroom. It is a very poor set
up. Also, the bathrooms begin the game clean and well prepared but fall into
disarray quickly.

Concessions - The Garden's food is great if you like soggy knishes or half
cooked pretzels. The food options at MSG are scarce and not so healthy. All
of the common fare is offered: pizza, hot dogs, burgers, chicken fingers,
pretzels, peanuts, etc. You'd think maybe a New York arena would sell good
pizza given that the area flaunts its ability to produce superior pizza.
Nope. They sell La Famiglia, a terrible chain pizza.

Fans/Atmosphere - This is hit or miss. Some nights you'd swear the Garden
is the most rocking building in the league and others it's a library. The
game presentation has suffered over the past few years. Probably the best
example of this is a "fan" known as Dancing Grandma. Dancing Grandma is an
elderly woman who dances to a particular song that is often played during
the third period. She is put up on Gardenvision (fancy name for the
scoreboard video monitors) during this. She is so obviously a planted fake
fan it is sickening. The atmosphere has also suffered over the last decade
or so as a result of so many seats being owned by corporations. Many of the
premium seats visible on TV are often unoccupied. Too many people using
those seats show up late and leave early. Many games are listed as sellouts
because all 18,200 seats are sold. That doesn't mean they're all in use.

History/Banners - The Rangers don't have the most decorated history if you
only measure history in winning. They only have four Stanley Cups to show
for their 81 years in the NHL. That said, walking through MSG doesn't inform
one in the least about the eight decades of New York Rangers hockey. This
is a shame. The retired number banners are tasteful, besides the arch on
some of the players' names not being true to the arch as it is on Ranger
jerseys.

Cool Stuff - There isn't any.

Bars - There are a few bars but they don't match up with the bars in many
of the newer buildings. They're hardly the only ones to do it but MSG
servers measure out their liquor, ensuring you get an exact, miniscule shot
for your $9. The beer selection isn't great but a few choices are offered.

Store - Possibly the worst in the league. The stores are small and very
cramped and don't offer much. The player t-shirt selection is awful.
Cosby's, a private store located outside the main entrance to the building
is well stocked, but very expensive.

Value - When the Blueshirts failed to qualify for the playoffs for the
sixth year in a row in 2002-03, MSG chairman Jim Dolan promised a 10% drop
in ticket prices if they didn't end that streak the next year. They didn't
so prices were dropped coming out of the lockout in 2005-06. The team has
made the playoffs every year since though and things have been looking up.
The prices have gone up considerably since.

Overall - JP and CC have been to many, many games here so we have a
soft spot for it. I (cc) especially do being that I'm a Ranger fan. MSG
definitely has charm and plenty of character. It manages to feel cozy
despite the slope of the seats. In a tough-to-describe way, it definitely
feels different in every way from any other building we've been to in the
NHL. That said, it needs to and probably will be updated or replaced in the
near future.