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MSG to host Knicks Game 5 watch party: What to know
By
Ryan Kost
Published Jun 13, 2026
Modified Jun 13, 2026
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By
Ryan Kost
Published Jun 13, 2026
Modified Jun 13, 2026
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Madison Square Garden will hold an outdoor watch party for Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday night after last-minute drama led to the event’s cancellation for Game 4.
Up to 3,000 ticketed fans will be allowed into Plaza33, just west of the Garden, for the Knicks-Spurs matchup, according to an MSG spokesperson.
Registration, which is now closed, began at 10 a.m.
Attendees can begin arriving starting at 6:30 p.m. at either Sixth Avenue and West 33rd Street or Sixth Avenue and West 32nd Street. They will be screened by the NYPD and must be in place by 8:30 p.m. There will be a strict no-bags policy in effect and attendees will be placed in pens, which they won’t be able to re-enter if they leave.
The NYPD’s “frozen zone” around the arena is also making a comeback, according to police. As with past games, beginning at 4 p.m., nobody will be allowed in unless they have a ticket to the concert at the Garden, a train ticket, are going to a business in the area or have “some other authorized reason to be there.”
Beginning at 8:30 p.m., those traveling through Penn Station will have to reroute through Moynihan Train Hall or Grand Central Terminal, according to the police. Additional LIRR trains will be leaving from Grand Central to help.
The watch party’s return follows a messy standoff between MSG and Knicks owner James Dolan and Mayor Zohran Mamdani over the Game 4 watch party. Dolan canceled the party, blaming security restrictions imposed by the city.
Mamdani countered that the city had approved a permit for up to 999 fans and that Dolan had simply walked away from it.
The NBA ultimately arranged for the game to be shown on dozens of LinkNYC screens across the five boroughs instead.
Another free watch party will be held at Wollman Rink in Central Park. Fans must pre-register for that event, too.
This story has been updated with new information.
Tagged
knicks
new york city
public safety
Ryan Kost
Ryan Kost is a reporter on the day-of news desk, where he covers breaking news and writes enterprise stories about jails, courts, prosecutors and government accountability. His work focuses on the public institutions that shape life in New York. Before joining the newsroom, he lead a multi-part investigation with Columbia Journalism Investigations and New York Focus into how New York prosecutors handle wrongful conviction claims. He's also been a staff writer at The San Francisco Chronicle, The Associated Press and The Oregonian. Got a tip? Signal: ryankost.20
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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