How hot is the experience economy? So hot that Madison Square Garden, which first opened its doors (at least in its current location) in 1968, will have more shows this summer than ever before in the arena’s history.
“We’ll be doing 57 shows at the park this summer, from June to August, which is the most we’ve ever done,” Josephine Vaccarello, executive vice president of streaming at MSG Entertainment, says in an interview. Hollywood Reporter. “Our second highest number was 37, so we are exceeding that by a very large margin.”
It is now clear that, post-coronavirus, consumers are hungry for experiential entertainment. This was evident in the boom in theme parks from the likes of Disney and NBCUniversal, not to mention the rising ticket prices and demand for top-tier concerts and sporting events (in-stadium tickets for the upcoming NBA Finals topped $100,000 in some cases).
“I think people want that connection, they want to feel the same thing with like-minded people, and experience it live. There’s nothing really like it, you know?” Vaccariello says. “Watching something on TV or video, sure, is great, but there’s nothing like that feeling of standing in an arena of 18,000 people, with everyone singing every word to the same song.”
MSG Entertainment, which owns the park as well as venues like Radio City Music Hall and the Beacon Theater, hopes to attract more people to the fold with a campaign it calls See It Live Summer, to “augment the experience for any fans who come to our venues.”
Between the three New York City venues, MSG Entertainment has more than 100 events booked for the summer.
“We have over 100 events at our venues during the summer,” adds Vaccarello, “It’s truly a celebration, dedicated to fan engagement and to heighten the experience for any fans who come to our venues, allowing everyone to see that this is the best place to see a show during the summer, including annual events like the Tony Awards or the Tribeca Film Festival, concerts from Bon Jovi and Olivia Dean, and a three-week Les Miserables concert experience at Radio City.”
In fact, the main reason the park and other MSG venues are so crowded this summer is simply due to the fact that the performers and shows aren’t limited to one weekend. To meet the growing demand for live entertainment, artists are doing residencies and mini-residencies and adding more shows than they did before, Vaccarello says. For example, Bon Jovi will play nine shows at MSG, while Rush will play four shows. John Oliver and Seth Meyers have been in residency at the Beacon since 2024, and have performed dozens of times.
To amplify the experience, MSG’s See It Live Summer program will include an Instagram-ready activity in the Garden’s Kalshi Concourse, as well as a See It Live Summer Snack Shack serving up treats like lobster-covered hot dogs, French fries, and deep-fried Oreos.
A branded Scream Truck will be stationed outside MSG on Tuesday, Radio City on July 13, and the Beacon on August 17 to hand out free ice cream to passersby, with other giveaways planned. The company will ramp up backstage tours at Radio City and MSG for experiences outside of concerts and shows.
“It’s not just about coming to see a show in the park,” says Vaccarello. “We want the entire experience, from buying tickets to when they show up at the venue and throughout the whole thing, to be memorable, and we try to create those little touch points.”
In an entertainment economy increasingly defined by real-life experiences (see Barry Diller’s $18 billion deal to buy MGM Resorts), these little touches can turn a night out into a long-term fan base.
