9 Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Madison Square Garden

The Great Roman Hippodrome. Gilmore's Garden. Madison Square Garden, the arena Knicks and Rangers fans and all NYC concert-goers know and love, has been renamed, rebuilt and uprooted many times since it was first introduced to the city in 1879. It has seen circuses, beauty contests, horseback riding, boxing matches and bicycle races, and was home to one of the first indoor ice rinks in the United States. And when it took on the name it still goes by today, MSG was an open-air arena near Madison Square Park. But even though it no longer resembles the modest, 10,000-seat venue it once was, the Garden has managed to hold onto its mystique as the oldest arena in the NHL, the second-oldest in the NBA, and a veritable New York City tradition. Here are some things even regular visitors may not know about it. (Information provided by Madison Square Garden) 1. Lucky No. 4 The original Madison Square Garden opened in 1879 near Madison Square Park and had a seating capacity of 10,0