OT: Madison Square Garden Renovations (Part VI)

[broadwayblue]

*fingers crossed* and praying to the gods old and new

From what they've told me they notate everything in your account so in the event you have a new rep next year there will be a history of what transpired.

 

[NYRFAN218]

Noticed tonight that they don't let anyone walk across the bridge with the media on it. Guess those up there may have said something because they had security at the balcony stopping people and I saw no one walking across. Good for those on the side of that bridge as there's really nothing to distract you if the bridge is in your line of sight.

 

[wolfgaze]

I'd be interested in hearing some feedback from the players to see if they've noticed any difference in the quality of the ice after the renovation work that was done.

 

[Flavius]

Noticed tonight that they don't let anyone walk across the bridge with the media on it. Guess those up there may have said something because they had security at the balcony stopping people and I saw no one walking across. Good for those on the side of that bridge as there's really nothing to distract you if the bridge is in your line of sight.

Yeah made my first trip of the season there tonight. When I walked up to the bridge level I asked security about where the media section was and the guy directed me but told me it was closed. When I made the trip around (had to go all the way around because of the closure) I noticed people getting stopped trying to get in. Too bad cause I wanted to say hi to SAM.

 

[patnyrnyg]

I'd be interested in hearing some feedback from the players to see if they've noticed any difference in the quality of the ice after the renovation work that was done.

I was thinking that last night. Wondering if there were any reports on ice quality.

 

[Megustaelhockey]

The puck still rolls and bounces like a *****. As long as the ice surface is not at street level or below with nothing underneath it, it will continue to be an issue.

 

[17futurecap]

Finally got to a game to see my seats in 222, row 19, can only see the bottom of the new scoreboard, but our seats are in great view of one of the giant screens they put up so I can't complain.

As someone said, nice to be on the media side, as no one was walking around on the bridge, really didn't bother me at all.

 

[Blueblood2]

The puck still rolls and bounces like a *****. As long as the ice surface is not at street level or below with nothing underneath it, it will continue to be an issue.

Agreed. I was at game last night and go to half the games and the puck was bouncing like crazy last night. It even seemed worse than normal.

 

[OKnumber25]

On the day of the Rangers home opener I heard an MSG exec state that "after this final phase all of our seats are unobstructed"

I'm guessing that since they lowered the concrete wall and iron rail in front of Row 1 of the 400s, replacing it with glass, they feel they can claim that rows 6 & 7 can now see the near goal.

 

[dstoffa]

Now they are trying to offer me row 14 in Sect 215 instead of the obstructed row 8 season seats I had bought.

Any experiences on the view from the last row of 215?
The seats would be right next to row 14 in 214 (at the top of the stairs).

Thanks!

If your rep is as good as mine was in the off season, she will agree to meet you at the Garden on an off day and let you sit in seats that are available.

That being written, I was moved out of 222 / 12 because the stupid hand rails / portal glass blocked 2/3rds the view of the ice. When me and my buddy took her to our seats, she sat down and said, "Oh my god." and proceeded to take pictures to support our claim.

There was nothing she could do right away, but took care of us as soon as she was able to.

I will admit she tried to put us down in the lower bowl, but my buddy and I cannot justify the expense. Resale would be almost impossible.

View the seats before you take them.

Good luck!


Cheers!
-Doug

 

[broadwayblue]

If your rep is as good as mine was in the off season, she will agree to meet you at the Garden on an off day and let you sit in seats that are available.

That being written, I was moved out of 222 / 12 because the stupid hand rails / portal glass blocked 2/3rds the view of the ice. When me and my buddy took her to our seats, she sat down and said, "Oh my god." and proceeded to take pictures to support our claim.

There was nothing she could do right away, but took care of us as soon as she was able to.

I will admit she tried to put us down in the lower bowl, but my buddy and I cannot justify the expense. Resale would be almost impossible.

View the seats before you take them.

Good luck!


Cheers!
-Doug

Where did they relocate you to?

 

[dstoffa]

Where did they relocate you to?

We went to the Garden on an off-day. Told her we wanted to be on the 8th avenue end, facing the benches, and would take end-ice on the 8th avenue end.

Ended up in 220 (closer to 219, in the 5 row portion). Yeah, more in the corner, but a much better view of all the action moving up and down the ice. And I don't need to go through a stinking portal to get to my seats.

 

[niinah]

Thanks everyone for your advice and good wishes!
I'm attaching a view from my new seat 3 in row 14 of 215.
You can see the entire ice, most of the scoreboard, it is the last row, seat 2 is overlooking the aisle and nobody in front of you, all in all not too disappointed with these.
Let's see if I'm able to move somewhere better next season.

So far all the buyers I've contacted have bee OK with the switch, even Stubhub came through and understood the situation and are not charging me for any replacement costs in case the buyers refuse the new seats.

FYI also the view from the awful seat 1 attached, I had a choice of 2 seats from 1-3, definitely went with 2-3 lol

 

[broadwayblue]

Thanks everyone for your advice and good wishes!
I'm attaching a view from my new seat 3 in row 14 of 215.
You can see the entire ice, most of the scoreboard, it is the last row, seat 2 is overlooking the aisle and nobody in front of you, all in all not too disappointed with these.
Let's see if I'm able to move somewhere better next season.

So far all the buyers I've contacted have bee OK with the switch, even Stubhub came through and understood the situation and are not charging me for any replacement costs in case the buyers refuse the new seats.

FYI also the view from the awful seat 1 attached, I had a choice of 2 seats from 1-3, definitely went with 2-3 lol

Not bad. Hopefully the glass partition is less of a distraction in real life than it appears in your pics. Ideally you can at least jump to the other side of the aisle (to 214) next summer. That would be a nice upgrade.

 

[broadwayblue]

We went to the Garden on an off-day. Told her we wanted to be on the 8th avenue end, facing the benches, and would take end-ice on the 8th avenue end.

Ended up in 220 (closer to 219, in the 5 row portion). Yeah, more in the corner, but a much better view of all the action moving up and down the ice. And I don't need to go through a stinking portal to get to my seats.

Row 5 is pretty good. Definitely better to be in the corner and be able to see than be closer to center with an obstructed view.

 

[vstk]

The puck still rolls and bounces like a *****. As long as the ice surface is not at street level or below with nothing underneath it, it will continue to be an issue.

The rink being in sixth floor doesn't have that much difference, contrary to popular belief. It's more about the rinks temperature, ambient temperature (this is probably what you meant as penn station does make a difference giving more warmth) and the temperature of the puck. They freeze the pucks and when they get warmer they start to bounce more. The refrigeration is directly under the ice so it should not make a difference.

It would be interesting to know what kind of temperature they are trying to maintain on the ice.

 

[Blueshirt Special]

FWIW I thought the ice was much faster on opening night than what I've become used to at The Garden. Playing the puck around the boards is comepletely different. It flies out of the zone!

The puck was bouncing like crazy though. Do they forget to freeze them sometimes?

 

[patnyrnyg]

You should pray that the rep stays around because she seems to be one of the rare ones who actually care in MSG. Usually not very responsive

I could not disagree more with this statement. I have always found the reps to be very accommodating and helpful. Unfortunately, they do work for a company and like any company they are in business to make money. They can only do so much, but for the most part will do everything they can.

 

[patnyrnyg]

FWIW I thought the ice was much faster on opening night than what I've become used to at The Garden. Playing the puck around the boards is comepletely different. It flies out of the zone!

The puck was bouncing like crazy though. Do they forget to freeze them sometimes?

I was wondering if the temperature had anything to do with it. Was near 70 for most of the day, yesterday.

 

[patnyrnyg]

I would not be happy moving to worse seats, if they wanted to bend over backwards for you then they would move you to better seats. One section over towards the back of the net and 6 rows higher isn't bending over backwards in my opinion. They sold you seats that were said to be unobstructed but were obstructed and now you have to move to worse seats then what u thought you had. I would tell them it is unacceptable and because its their fault you should get moved to a better seat not worse seat

So, let's say they move him to better seats. What if he can't afford those seats next year? They would likely not charge him the difference this season, but seriously doubt they let him keep the discount on future seasons.

 

[niinah]

So, let's say they move him to better seats. What if he can't afford those seats next year? They would likely not charge him the difference this season, but seriously doubt they let him keep the discount on future seasons.

I don't know if it even was a question of price, I also asked about slightly more expensive seats, but was told nothing is available, not even combining miniplans etc. Of course may be complete BS from their part, but I have moved on, and since my friends & other buyers don't seem to mind the change so much (thankfully!) it does not make much difference for this season.
Stubhub will probably cancel my sales for the premium games I sold there, but prices have actually increased since then, so I may be looking for an even better price.

Had I been assigned to row 14 from the beginning, I might have had a harder time selling the tickets to begin with, so after all it is not so bad they told me row 8. It was easier to attract buyers, and now that they are committed it's easier for them to switch the seats than to find another seller and try to find other seats for the same price.

 

[Leaf Forever]

Hi from Toronto: I note the new capacity which is 194 less than what was from 1992-2011too bad. You would think with the changes they would introduce larger party areas or standing room like Philly who sell standing room for the suites. The ACC has some seats by the end of the rink suites that have seats like Yankee stadium in center where a patron cannot see clearly the goal or field in their area. The obstructed tickets are sold for less than the section charges. With the MSG corner rows being badly blocked how can the workers find available seats if the place is listed as a sellout. You will only get this corrected if they build a new MSG like the plans for the Farley building where they were talking of an arena with 20-21 thousand seats. It is sad the building is really designed for the NBA and not a combo style for both sports. Does Dolan ever talk to the media and fans?

 

[JohnC]

How's the view from 225 row 16 with the bridges?

 

[NYRFAN218]

How's the view from 225 row 16 with the bridges?

This is 225 row 15 standing up so probably something like this.

 

[JohnC]

This is 225 row 15 standing up so probably something like this.

Perfect, thanks!