The New York Rangers or Knicks — or both — could bring on a new minority owner.
“We have no plans to sell either team … but we would certainly not rule out the possibility of selling a minority stake in the Knicks or the Rangers,” Madison Square Garden Sports president and COO David Hopkinson said Tuesday.
- Hopkinson referenced changes to the NBA’s ownership rules that allow sovereign wealth funds and private equity firms to invest in teams.
- “These are incredibly scarce assets, they’ve got strong business fundamentals that we just reviewed, and we believe they’ve got significant opportunities for long-term growth,” Hopkinson said.
But a new majority owner seems to be out of the question.
James Dolan, owner of both teams through Madison Square Garden Sports, said last month that he’s “not retiring anytime soon. It’s a family-controlled asset, so someone in the family will eventually own it.”
By the Books
Forbes last valued the Rangers at $2.2 billion, a 10% year-over-year increase, and the Knicks at $6.1 billion, a 5% year-over-year increase. The only other NBA team worth more is the Golden State Warriors at $7 billion.
MSG Sports reported $353.7 million in second-quarter revenue on Tuesday, a 22% year-over-year increase.
