The team announced on Friday that Andrew Lustgarten, president and CEO of MSG Sports, will be stepping down at the end of the year.
A childhood friend of MSG chairman James Dolan, Rastgarten, 45, has run the business side of the Knicks and Rangers since MSG split ownership of the sports teams from Arena and the cable television network in April 2020. rice field.
“With the company on solid footing and the NBA and NHL seasons starting soon, this is the right time for me to pursue other opportunities,” Lustgarten said in a written statement.
Dolan will continue to oversee team operations for the Knicks and Rangers, according to MSG. David Hopkinson is promoted to President and COO of MSG Sports.
“Andy’s leadership of our sports and entertainment company has cemented MSG’s position as an industry leader.
“He has successfully driven several strategic initiatives for our company’s growth and diversity.”
Lustgarten, who has held leadership positions at MSG since 2014 and helped shape the spinout, will join the MSG Sports Board as Director later this year.
“I have no doubt that this is just the beginning of what he will accomplish as he embarks on the next chapter,” said Dolan.
Lustgarten’s father, Marc, chaired Dolan’s Cablevision MSG from 1997 until his death in 1999.
MSG Sports posted record profits in the last quarter and Lustgarten oversaw strategic moves such as the sale of Los Angeles’ Forum Arena for $400 million and MSG’s acquisition of Tao Hospitality Group, MSG said. I’m here.
Lustgarten has expressed dissatisfaction with MSG Sports’ stock price at $161.15 at the time of the spin-off, closing at $159.54 on Friday after 30 months.
MSG Sports is valued at $4.7 billion after adding net debt, but investment bankers say it is likely to be worth about $7 billion combined if the Knicks and Rangers are sold.
This means the stock is trading at a 33% discount to the value of the team.
There have been speculations that Dolan might re-merge MSG Sports and MSG Entertainment, but it appears to be off the table at this time.
MSG Entertainment is instead exploring the possibility of splitting its operations in two, with MSG Arena and its cable television network into one company and Las Vegas Sphere and Tao into another, and is also trying to boost its share price. increase.
In the 2021-22 season, the Knicks had the third-highest average gates, at $2.98 million per game, according to internal NBA figures. That’s a 9.2% increase for him from the last non-COVID season of 2018-19.
That’s in line with the league average of 10.2%, according to classified NBA data.
Knicks this year Added about 24 seats to replace what was part of the scorer’s table for many games selling tickets Ticket industry sources say between $5,000 and $15,000 depending on the opponent.
If tickets sold for an average of $5,000 each, that alone could add 3% to your net gate revenue.
Like the Rangers did last year, the Knicks’ playoff run also puts it some distance in boosting earnings.
