November 2, 2022

Taking an All Access Tour of Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden, the “world’s most famous arena”, is the premiere sporting and entertainment arena in New York City. Home to the legendary sports teams: the New York Knicks and Rangers, as well as icons such as Billy Joel, the arena has been renowned as the place to go to show that you’ve really made it. When you visit New York City, you can count on being able to see some kind of event at Madison Square Garden. I’ve been in New York a few times and always try to see a basketball or hockey game in the Garden.

Even if you don’t secure tickets to a game, there’s another way you can get inside the Garden’s hallowed halls. The All Access guided tour takes you throughout the arena and is a must for sports and live entertainment fans. In 60 minutes, you’ll learn tons about the arena’s history and the events that have transpired here and broadcast around the world.

If you’re headed to New York, check out my city guide and itinerary post HERE.

This is a photo taken looking towards the main entrance of Madison Square Garden.

MSG All Access Tour – The Basics

Where? 4 Pennsylvania Plaza, New York
When? Tours currently run Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday on the half hour from 9.00am to 3.00pm (though this schedule is different on game days and is subject to other events).
How much? All Access Tour tickets cost $37.00 USD for adults (13 years and over). Children and students pay $32.00 USD. The Madison Square Garden All Access Tour is also an attraction included in the New York Sightseeing Pass.
How to get there: Its really easy to get to Madison Square Garden. If you’re staying in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, its a relatively short walk (about 10 minutes south from Times Square). You can also get to the Garden by Subway, as its directly on top of 34th Street-Penn Station. This major subway hub is serviced by the 1, 2, 3, A, C and E lines.
Website: https://www.msg.com/venue-tours/madison-square-garden

A Brief History of Madison Square Garden

The Madison Square Garden that stands in Pennsylvania Plaza today is actually the fourth building to take that name. The original Garden opened in 1879 at Madison Square (the junction of East 26th Street and Madison Avenue). The second followed suit at the same site in 1890. The third incarnation of the arena opened in 1925 and was located further uptown at 50th Street and Eighth Avenue. Finally, today’s Madison Square Garden opened on February 11, 1968. Its opening was inaugurated by a USO military salute and was presided over by the legendary duo of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.

This photo features a display commemorating the 1971 clash between Ali and Frazier at Madison Square Garden.

Madison Square Garden was instantly recognisable in the land of entertainment complexes. Even back then, you couldn’t picture the Garden without its iconic circular shape and cable supported ceiling coming to mind. Since its opening, the Garden has seen many a performance. The New York Knicks (basketball) and Rangers (ice hockey) each won their respective championship in the Garden in 1970 and 1994 respectively. Major entertainment phenomena took place, such as the “Fight of the Century” between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in 1971, and the very first WrestleMania in 1985. Numerous concerts have also been hosted here, with Billy Joel now playing once a month, becoming the Garden’s record number of performances at 65 in 2015. Even the Pope has made an appearance! The Garden underwent a further renovation in 2013, modernising the historic venue. The venue can hold over 20,000 fans today.

This photo is of a display that commemorates the first ever WrestleMania held in 1985 in Madison Square Garden.

Organising an All Access Tour of Madison Square Garden

There’s limited availability each day for All Access Tours of Madison Square Garden. You definitely don’t want to just show up at the box office hoping for the best. Book your ticket well in advance to avoid disappointment. You can do this via Ticketmaster, or the links on the official website.

You can also take the tour as part of your New York Sightseeing Pass. This multi-attraction pass will save you money overall if you’re doing a heap of tourist sights in New York, and I highly recommend it. With that said, my understanding is that you can’t prebook a tour slot with the pass and instead have to present it at the MSG Box Office. Obviously you’ll be out of luck if the day’s tours have all sold out, or those that remain don’t fit in with your plans. Personally, I’d just prebook the tour even if you get the Pass – you’ll put your Sightseeing Pass to use elsewhere anyway.

Aim to arrive at the Garden about 15 minutes before your designated tour time. You’ll have to pass security as you enter the venue, but its a quick metal detector process. Once inside, you can browse the merchandise in the MSG Store and check out the “Walk of Fame” tiles paying tribute to Garden legends while you wait for your group to be called. Once the tour begins, you’ll take some photos before following your guide for the next hour. Use the bathroom before the tour starts, as you’ll only be able to go at a designated stop once on the tour.

If you take the MSG tour, you can also book a tour of Radio City Music Hall at a discounted rate. I’ve posted about that tour separately HERE.

This is a photo of the MSG Merchandise Store.

Touring Madison Square Garden

Tours of Madison Square Garden differ slightly in the order of stops and what you’ll actually see (particularly on game days), but for the most part you’ll the following highlights. You’ll learn about the Garden’s history through exhibits in the concourse, step out into the empty arena at numerous levels, stop by the luxury suites and hopefully even see the locker rooms of the local sports teams. I’ve actually done the tour twice – once when the Garden was set up for a Knicks game, and the other when ice hockey was being played that night. I was surprised to learn that the ice rink always covers the arena floor during hockey season, and can be covered easily by insulated material that sits underneath the basketball court or performance stage. I learnt all this while sitting in the penalty box!

This is a photo taken from the floor seats at Madison Square Garden.

While getting right down on the arena floor was great, it was even cooler to head up to the Chase Bridge. Unlike any arena in the United States, Madison Square Garden has two bridges suspended from its ceiling which provide standing room views from the rafters. The building is designed in such a way that the bridges don’t obstruct any views from the other seats further back – there’s not a bad seat in this house! From the Bridge, you also have the best view of the banners that hang from the rafters celebrating the championship wins and record number of performances at the Mecca of entertainment.

This photo is taken from the Chase Bridge in Madison Square Garden.

You’ll spend a decent amount of the tour learning about the historic events that have taken place in Madison Square Garden. The redesigned arena concourse showcases this history through the “Garden 366” exhibit. Spanning all the way around the circumference of the atrium, there are decorative plaques commemorating an event that took place in MSG for every single day of the year (dating all the way back to 1879!). Breaking up the timeline are a few larger plaques that focus on major events, and there’s even some interactive panels that play footage from certain events.

This is a photo taken of the timeline of events in the Garden 366 exhibit of the MSG Concourse.

The upper concourse featured another historical exhibit, this one loaded with memorabilia from throughout the Garden’s history. You’ll see Elton John’s guitar, seats from the old Garden, and the locker of the legendary Wayne Gretsky, amongst so much more. There’s also interactive mini-games here where you can take virtual shots at goals or defend against legendary hockey players. This all culminates in a virtual reality experience, where you’ll adorn a headset to take a stage side seat for an MSG performance by the legendary Billy Joel!

This is a photo taken in the memorabilia exhibit at MSG showing seats from the third Garden.

Your tour of the Garden will also take you into the arena’s version of Celebrity Row – an assortment of luxury suites. Serving premium food, staffed by full service attendants and offering excellent views of the action, up to 24 people can watch a game from these intimate booths – for a hefty price tag of course! You’ll only visit one suite on your tour, but no two are identical, each with their own unique furnishings.

This photo shows a private bar in one of the MSG luxury suites.

I think the highlight of the tour has to be the Knicks and Rangers dressing rooms. Make sure you’re taking the tour on a day that neither is playing so that you’ll stand the best chance of getting to stop by. They’re right next to each other and are emboldened by the teams logos on the floor (although in the case of the Rangers, their logo was actually covered up – apparently so that nobody stands on it – a major NHL faux pas).

This is a photo of the New York Knicks Locker Room.

This is a photo of the New York Rangers locker room.

I really enjoyed taking an All-Access Tour of Madison Square Garden. While it probably isn’t for everyone, as a huge fan of sports entertainment, the venue has always held a special place in my heart. Visiting was a must for me when I was in New York, and I was very satisfied with the tour. Both times I’ve taken the tour, the guides were excellent, brimming with knowledge and trivia. If you want to learn more about MSG, I recommend this tour. If you’ve taken it, let me know the most interesting thing you learned about the Garden.