Madison Square Garden Events

Madison Square Garden Forms Action Sports Division

MSG Action Sports got off the ground with its first event, "Air in the Square, "a MegaRamp ASA Triples BMX and skateboarding competition in Times Square on June 16 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Produced in partnership with ASA Entertainment, MSG Action Sports is licensing a one-hour breakdown of the event to Fox Sports Net, which will air the docu-drama style special on July 22 at 5 p.m. (ET).

Air in the Square featured 20 of the world's best BMX and skateboarding pros in a unique head-to-head bracket-style competition showcasing their versatility and innovation on the one-of-a-kind 195-foot-long MegaRamp ASA Triples course that features a 25-foot-high roll-in ramp, two 25-foot-wide jumps and a course-ending 14-foot-high quarter pipe. MSG Action Sports also said it will partner with Quiksilver to make MSG Networks and national music network Fuse the official broadcast partners of "The Quiksilver Pro New York" event from Sept. 1-15 in Long Beach, New York. The Quiksilver Pro New York, the first ASP World Tour Pro Surf competition on the East Coast, will feature the world's top professional surfers competing for a $1 million prize purse. Additional action sports demos, music, fashion and cultural events will round out two weeks of competition. MSG Networks will telecast live and live-to-tape surfing action, including the quarterfinal, semifinal and final rounds. Additional programming from the festival will air daily on both MSG Networks and Fuse during the competition window, and will also include live and live-to-tape daily segments showcasing the surf competition, BMX, skate and Motocross athletes and exhibitions, as well as contest highlights, athlete interviews, action sports exhibitions, daily concerts and cultural events.

"As we continue to look for additional ways to grow our business, expanding the MSG Sports division outside of our venues has been a key focus," said Hank Ratner, president and CEO, The Madison Square Garden Co. in a statement. "The MSG Action Sports group provides a tremendous opportunity for us to collaborate across our divisions and utilize the depth and marketing expertise of MSG Sports, MSG Entertainment and MSG Media to develop world class events and television programming for the millions of action sports and music enthusiasts across the country. Air in the Square and our partnership with Quiksilver are just the beginning of MSG Action Sports. We are currently exploring additional opportunities for future events in New York and beyond.

The Madison Square Garden Company Launches Action Sports/Lifestyle ...

If you want to make a statement, hosting a BMX/skate event in the middle of NYC is not a bad way to do it. The Madison Square Garden Company did just that on June 16th with the “Air in the Square,”  jointly announcing that it is launching MSG Action Sports, a division of MSG Sports that will produce a variety of action sports and lifestyle events, properties, and television programming.

This unique event was produced with the MegaRamp® ASA Triples, and was the first major free and public skate and BMX event to ever be held in Times Square.  Air in the Square featured 20 of the world’s best BMX and skateboarding pros in a head-to-head bracket-style competition showcasing their versatility and innovation on the one-of-a-kind 195-foot long MegaRamp® ASA Triples course that features a 25′ high roll-in ramp, two 25′ wide jumps and a course-ending 14′ high quarter pipe. Participating pros for BMX included Ryan Nyquist, Daniel Dhers, Mike Spinner, Brett Banasiewicz, Steve McCann, Zack Warden, Austin Coleman, Pat Casey, Vince Byron, James Foster and Colton Satterfield. Skateboarding pros included Bob Burnquist, Pierre-Luc Gagnon, Andy Macdonald, Lincoln Ueda, Adam Taylor, Elliott Sloan, Mitchie Brusco, Jett Eaton and Jagger Eaton.

MSG Action Sports and ASA Entertainment are also producing a one-hour television show about Air in the Square that will premiere on Fox Sports Net on Friday, July 22 at 5:00 p.m. ET. The participating pros will serve as narrators of the docu-drama, telling behind the scenes stories of the event in their own words, and providing viewers with unique insight into their personalities - part of what makes action sports so compelling to watch. The show will also feature dozens of head-to-head BMX and skateboarding battles between the world’s best pros that are part of the competition at Air in the Square.

MSG Action Sports also announced plans to partner with Quiksilver to make MSG Networks and national music network Fuse the official media broadcast partners of The Quiksilver Pro,  the first ASP World Tour Pro Surf Competition on the East Coast, featuring the world’s top professional surfers competing for an unprecedented $1 million prize purse, taking place this September in Long Island, New York.  ”As we continue to look for additional ways to grow our business, expanding the MSG Sports division outside of our venues has been a key focus. The MSG Action Sports group provides a tremendous opportunity for us to collaborate across our divisions and utilize the depth and marketing expertise of MSG Sports, MSG Entertainment and MSG Media to develop world class events and television programming for the millions of action sports and music enthusiasts across the country,” said Hank Ratner, president and CEO, The Madison Square Garden Company. “Air in the Square and our partnership with Quiksilver are just the beginning of MSG Action Sports. We are currently exploring additional opportunities for future events in New York and beyond.” Additional action sports demos, music, fashion and cultural events will round out two weeks of competition. MSG Networks will telecast live and live-to-tape surfing action, including the quarter-final, semi-final and final rounds of the competition.

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