Blimey!
Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corporation CEO James Dolan plans to build a game-changing Sphere in east London, similar to the Las Vegas performance venue, after the mayor blows the whistle at the last minute. Plans to build it were dramatically scrapped.
MSGE announced its withdrawal last week. The shock veto by Mayor Sadiq Khan, a Labor member at odds with the ruling Conservative Party and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, could theoretically be overturned by another government official, but Mr Dolan said did not want to participate in a long-term struggle.
“This is a political football,” Dolan said. “It looked to me like it was going to be an endless battle that might last for years. We've been fighting an endless battle in New York. [over Madison Square Garden]. Although we live in New York, we are not trapped in London. ”
Regarding the situation in London, he said, “I would be happy if we could get a result.''
Mr. Dolan said MSGE would sell the five-acre property near Olympic Park in Stratford, about nine miles from central London, for which MSGE paid $79 million in 2017, according to an SEC filing.
“I just hope we get some of the money back,” Dolan said.
The proposal for the roughly $2.7 billion, 300-foot-tall sphere (slightly smaller than Las Vegas) went through five years of intensive review by local governments.
“Until a month ago, there were no real obstacles,” Dolan fumed.
He attributed this rejection entirely to politics, not to New York-style NIMBYism (“very few people were against it”).
Dolan said he has made a number of “amendments” to the original plan in response to community concerns over the years.
Everyone seemed pleased with the project, including Mr Khan, who said in 2018 that it was “great to welcome another world-class venue to the capital”.
But last November, Mr Khan suddenly cited the “unacceptable negative impact on local residents” of outdoor LED lighting, including glare.
Dolan said the mayor “completely bypassed government processes and hired his own people to do the report.”
MSGE announced its “final” decision to withdraw in a letter to the government. . . And in collaboration with numerous government agencies, he is working on a five-year planning process. . . We cannot continue to participate in a process that is nothing more than a political football between opposing parties. ”
Mr Dolan acknowledged there were “no doubt several hundred residents” near the sphere who may have objected to its lighting effects. area. “
That includes 4,300 construction jobs and more than 1,000 permanent jobs, at least half of which will be prioritized for local residents, according to an analysis commissioned by MSGE.
In addition to political conflicts, Mr. Dolan also blamed Mr. Khan's raid in part on rival entertainment company AEG, which operates London's giant O2 performance arena.
Until now, London has generally been more tolerant than New York of privately-backed mega-projects. These include a huge mixed-use complex in King's Cross, the Canada Water facility on the River Thames, and residential developments around Battersea Power Station, which have been converted into shopping and dining malls.
British property journalist Peter Bill wrote in the Times of London that Sphere's politically-driven death sent a “chilling message” to companies interested in investing in the UK.
“The British planning system is not there to help you, it is there to catch you,” he warned.
Publicly traded MSGE has revenues of $851 million in 2023 and owns the NBA Knicks, NHL Rangers, and MSG Network, as well as premier venues such as the Garden and Radio City Music Hall. The company hopes to replicate Sphere in other cities. There have been rumors of a planned construction site in South Korea, but Dolan cautioned that “it's still under negotiation.”
What about New York City?
Dolan said with a laugh. “I don't think New York City is ready for the spheres. It's very difficult to go through the process.
“We wanted to build the Sphere on Pier 76 on the Hudson River, next to the Javits Center. It's not really used,” he says. “But when you think about what it would cost… It took 20 years of hard work just to keep it in place and operational.”
