Madison Square Garden 'All Access Tour'

Want to see the areas of Madison Square Garden that are only accessible to those who can afford the high-priced private suites? The All Access Tour gives visitors a behind-the-scenes look at Madison Square Garden, including a peek into team locker rooms, suites and the VIP only restaurant, but to see the Garden in action, you might prefer to attend an event.

It may seem puzzling that Madison Square Garden is located on 8th Avenue and 31st Street, no where near Madison Avenue or Madison Square Park, but the current Madison Square Garden is actually the fourth building to have that name. The first building -- Madison Square Garden I opened on Memorial Day in 1879 and was located between Fifth and Madison Avenues from 26th to 27th Streets.

Our All Access Tour had about 35 participants. Our tour guide led us around Madison Square Garden, sharing the Garden's history and most famous events, as well as showing us the VIP-only Club Bar and Grill, private suites and team locker rooms. Learning about how they make the ice in the arena was interesting, and I was surprised to discover that many events are conducted with flooring placed above the ice during hockey season. While the history of Madison Square Garden is notable, the building itself is not beautiful, and the tour felt like a sales pitch for booking private events or renting the private suites. The Knicks/Liberty and the New York Rangers locker rooms are included on the tour, but they are only used for games (the teams practice elsewhere), and had very little memorabilia or character.

While the avid sports fan may enjoy this tour, to experience the real energy of Madison Square Garden, I would recommend buying tickets to see an actual event at the arena or theater.