Amtrak's Penn Station plan would raze MSG's Infosys Theater, and MSG says the sale could fund a new venue

The federal plan to rebuild Penn Station keeps Madison Square Garden where it is, but it would take one piece of the Garden away: the Infosys Theater, the roughly 5,600-seat hall beneath the arena that New Yorkers have known as the Felt Forum, the WaMu Theater and the Hulu Theater.

Under Amtrak's proposal, the railroad would buy the theater, demolish it and turn the space into a large, light-filled entrance facing Eighth Avenue. Now the Madison Square Garden Company has said what it might do with the money.

What MSG told investors

On an investor call on Wednesday, Nov. 4, MSG chief financial executive David Collins was asked about a potential sale. He said losing the theater would take away a source of revenue, but that the proceeds could pay for a new venue, Gothamist reported.

"The primary way for us to minimize the tax leakage would be to reinvest all of the potential proceeds in another domestic venue," Collins said, according to Gothamist. He added that the company is not limited to New York, but that the city is its "core operating market," so it would "most likely" look here first. He did not say whether MSG would buy an existing hall or build one, and said executives "expect ample time" to decide.

MSG's latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission lists the Penn Station redevelopment, including the "potential transfer" of the theater, as a possible factor in its financial outlook. An earlier filing described a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with the project's master developer that contemplates transferring the theater, according to a source guide compiled by the watchdog group Reinvent Albany.

Who would pay

• Price: previous estimates have put the theater's cost in the hundreds of millions of dollars. In 2023, while the MTA was weighing its own rebuild, Peter Cipriano, then with developer ASTM Group, told a public hearing the theater could be bought for "substantially less" than $1 billion. Cipriano is now CEO of Penn Transformation Partners, the master developer the federal government picked for the station, Gothamist reported.
• Funding: Amtrak special adviser Andy Byford has said the railroad wants as much federal grant money as possible before potentially asking New York and New Jersey to chip in. That means taxpayers would likely cover the purchase, and indirectly MSG's next venue, How2NewYork noted.
• Overall cost: still unsettled. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has testified that the administration planned to put up $8 billion, and Gov. Kathy Hochul has said the state won't contribute since the feds took over the project, according to Gothamist.

Representatives for MSG and Amtrak did not immediately respond to Gothamist's requests for comment.

The MTA is still on the sidelines

MTA Chair Janno Lieber has repeatedly criticized Amtrak's plan and has declined to sign on as an official partner, warning the work could disrupt Long Island Rail Road service at Penn. Lieber has said Amtrak won't share the full details unless the MTA joins. Back in 2023, he said he did not want taxpayer money used to buy the theater, remarking that "the Dolans have gotten a pretty good deal from New Yorkers so far."

The design Amtrak picked also calls for a "classical" makeover of the Garden's exterior, higher ceilings in the train hall and at least limited through-running of NJ Transit and LIRR trains, Gothamist reported. Officials expect shovels in the ground by the end of 2027.

What it means for riders and concertgoers

For now, nothing changes at the theater or the station. Amtrak says the pre-development phase, which is meant to finalize the design and lock in a price, runs through 2027, along with community engagement on the plan, How2NewYork reported. Any sale price, and who pays it, should come into focus during that phase.