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MSG Sports open to selling a minority stake in Knicks

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James Foglio
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James Foglio Sports Editor

James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.

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Sports Editor

Updated17 Aug 2023

MSG Sports open to selling a minority stake in New York Knicks

In February, MSG Sports President and COO David Hopkinson announced his company would be interested in selling a minority stake in one of the owned sports franchises, and the New York Knicks were mentioned as one of the teams.

“We have no plans to sell either team,” Hopkinson told investors. “No current plans there, but we certainly won’t rule out the possibility of selling a minority stake in the Knicks or Rangers.”

MSG Sports, the parent company of the Knicks and NHL’s New York Rangers, had a record year with revenue reaching $887 million, an 8% increase compared to the previous 12 months.

According to few NBA betting sites, the New York Knicks hold 14th-ranked odds to win next season’s championship in 2024. Check out which sportsbooks are showing the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, and Cleveland Cavaliers with better odds.

Madison Square Garden Sports reported a 28% decline in fourth quarter revenue to $127 million in fiscal year 2023 “due to fewer home NBA and NHL playoff games at The Garden,” according to Sportico.

Not to mention, the 2022 net income was $45.6 million.

“Our strong financial results in fiscal 2023 reflect the robust ongoing demand from our fans and corporate partners for the Knicks and Rangers,” Knicks owner James Dolan and MSG Sports executive chairman said in a statement.

“We believe we are well-positioned to build on this momentum in the coming year and remain confident in our ability to generate long-term shareholder value.”

MSG Sports hits record $887 million revenue on the NBA’s New York Knicks and NHL’s New York Rangers, interested in selling minority stake in the Knicks

Last August, MSG Senior V.P. of Communications and Marketing Natalie Ravitz was asked by The New York Post on whether the company had any future plans to sell a franchise. “We have no plans to sell either of the teams,” she replied.

However, MSG analyst Jonathan Boyar then told his side of the story to CNBC.

“The current case is right now the enterprise value is $4.7 billion,” explained Boyar. “The Knicks, uh, were just valued at $6 billion. So essentially, you’re getting paid to own the [New York] Rangers.

“Their sister company, Madison Square Garden Entertainment, is currently, uh, about to finish a project in Las Vegas called the Sphere. And we think it’s likely that after that is done, James Dolan — who controls the company, will sell the teams.”


The Sphere at The Venetian Resort, previously referred to as MSG Sphere, is scheduled to open on Sept. 29, 2023, in Paradise, Nevada. The 18,600-seat auditorium was initially scheduled to open in 2021. Nevertheless, construction was stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“And what’s really interesting is private equity has gotten involved in a big way,” Boyar added. “It wouldn’t surprise us to put a marker on one or both of the teams, if private equity decides to take a stake.”

“It’s worth noting that Silver Lake owns about 9% of the company. The Egyptian billionaire [Nassef Sawiris] owns about 5% of the company, so there’s a lot of things that could happen.”

MSG Sports’ stock price is up 12% this year, per Sportico. The NBA is expected to create more liquidity for owners. The plan is to establish private equity and sovereign wealth funds.

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