MSG Sports

Pre-history

On May 31, 1923, Tex Rickard incorporated the New Madison Square Garden Corporation for the purpose of building and operating the third Madison Square Garden. On January 15, 1925, shortly after the Garden opened, the corporation's name was changed to the Madison Square Garden Corporation.Following the success of the New York Americans, the Madison Square Garden Corporation established the New York Rangers, which began play in 1926. In 1946, at the behest of Ned Irish, the Madison Square Garden Corporation became a charter member of the National Basketball Association with the New York Knicks.By the mid-1950s, James D. Norris and Arthur Wirtz, who already owned the Detroit Olympia and Chicago Stadium as well as interests in numerous National Hockey League teams, owned some 60% of the stock in the Madison Square Garden Corporation. Both men served on the corporation's board, as did Irish and John Reed Kilpatrick , among others. In 1957, however, U.S. Federal Judge Sylvester J. Ryan ruled that the International Boxing Club of New York , run by Norris and Wirtz, was monopolizing the promotion of boxing matches in violation of U.S. antitrust law. Ryan ordered the two men to divest their stock in the Madison Square Garden Corporation within five years and resign as officers and directors of the company. Though Norris and Wirtz appealed, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld Ryan's decision two years later.On January 30, 1959, Norris and Wirtz accordingly sold their controlling interest in the Madison Square Garden Corporation, accounting for 40% of the stock, to automaker-turned-investment firm Graham-Paige for $4 million. On April 7, 1960, the Madison Square Garden Corporation merged with Graham-Paige, and on March 9, 1962, Graham-Paige changed its name to the Madison Square Garden Corporation to reflect its largest asset.Gulf and Western Industries, which began purchasing Madison Square Garden stock in 1969 and by 1977 owned 81%, purchased complete control of the corporation and turned it into a wholly owned subsidiary on August 19, 1977. At the time of Gulf and Western's acquisition, the Madison Square Garden Corporation owned the arena, Knicks, Rangers, three horse tracks , Holiday on Ice, and real estate holdings in Long Island, Manhattan, and Chicago. In June 1989, Gulf and Western changed its name to Paramount Communications, reflecting its ownership of Paramount Pictures and its focus on its entertainment and publishing properties.In 1994, Viacom purchased majority ownership of Paramount Communications, but quickly sold MSG to Cablevision and ITT Corporation. In 1997, ITT sold its half to Cablevision for $650 million.

Main history

In February 2010, Cablevision spun off the MSG properties, including the sports franchises, into The Madison Square Garden Company.On September 30, 2015, the MSG Networks division and the main MSG operation were both split as two companies. The MSG Network division ended up being the former Madison Square Garden Company and the main MSG operation became the spin off company. The original Madison Square Garden Company was renamed to MSG Networks, Inc. and the new company took the name “The Madison Square Garden Company”.In September 2018, Madison Square Garden began work on a spherical music venue in Las Vegas, called MSG Sphere Las Vegas, planned to open in 2021. Earlier in the year, MSG announced plans to build MSG Sphere London, near the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. Both venues are designed by Populous architects and are supposed to incorporate highly advanced audio and visual technologies.