Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2019-07-29)

BloombergBusinessweek July 29, 2019

facts;hewasupsetwiththeoveralltone.

“Whatstruckmeaboutit washowmuch

he cared,” McDonnell says. “He seemed

verytroubledbynotgettingtherespecthe

deserved.I keptthinkingtomyself,Theguy

ishavinga hardtimewiththis.It madehim

sympathetic,a little.”

ThePRrep,McDonnellsays,barelyspoke.

“Jimwasangryandupsetanddeterminedfor

ustoseehispointofview,”hesays.Attimes

hewasalmostshouting.“Atonepointmyassis-

tantcameandopenedthedoorandaskedif everythingwas

allright,”Hueyrecalls.

“ThewayI cametoviewhimisexactlythewayheis

reflectedinthestory,”McDonnellsays.“Sympathetic,inthe

sensethathecamethroughverytoughtrailsandmadeit.But

atthesametime,he’sbedeviledbyhisownbehavior.It’sreally

easytopileonhim.Buthe’sa victimofcircumstance.He’sa

tragicfigure.Whichofcoursehewillhate.”

THEKNICKS’MISERYCLEARLYWEIGHSON

Dolan,asdoestheideathatit’shisfaultandcanonlybe

fixedif hesellstheteam.Almosteveryoneofhisoutbursts

inpublicoflatepertainstotheincreasinglypervasivesen-

timentamongfansandsportsmediapersonalitiesinNew

Yorkthatheshouldjustgiveupandsell.Dolanclearlycan’t

abidethat,andhe’stakentowhatSelenaRobertscallsfir-

ingthefans.Hebanspeople—regularpayingcustomersand

thecelebritiesheotherwiseenjoyshavingatcourtside—from

theGarden.ActorsEthanHawkeandMichaelRapaportare

amongtheunwelcome.

InMarcha faninterceptedDolanonhiswayoutofMSG

andyelledathimtoselltheteam.Dolanstopped,toldthe

fanto“enjoywatchingonTV,”andthensummonedsecurity

totosstheguyout.Thewholethingwascaughtonvideo

andsoldtoTMZ.Ofcourse,it blewupinhisf D l

wasroastedinthemediaandevendrewtheire

YorkstateSenatorBradHoylman,whopointedo

MadisonSquareGardengetsmorethan$40 mi

yearinpropertytaxbreaks.“IfJamesDolanwa

treatit ashisprivatestadium& banfansforme

suggestinghesella team,”hewroteonTwitter,“

perhapsAlbanyshould... redirectthosepublicd

toPennStation’sMTAfacilities.”

DolanadmittedtoMichaelKaythathepro

shouldhavejustwalkedpasttheguy,butheco

“It’sverydiscouragingtohearsomebodysayq

said.“Iamnota quitter.Fortherecord,I amn

ingtheteam.”Also,hesaid,thewholethingw

ambush,setupforTV.

Almost thesamething happenedin 2017

anotherfan,a younglawyernamedMikeHam

shoutedatDolanoutsidetheGardentosellth

“Howwouldyoulikeit if I cametoyouroffice,sto

side,andtoldallclientsthatyou’reanasshole

yelled, according to Hamersky. “Because

that’s what you are!”

Hamersky told the story to a reporter for

Deadspin, who worried that the lack of video

evidence would basically pit Hamersky’s word

against a billionaire’s. But when Deadspin

reached out for comment, Dolan didn’t deny

it.“He confirmed everything and escalated it

tenfold,” Hamersky says. The story went viral.

“He just kind of came off as a petty jerk, which

I think he kind of relishes.”

What’sconfusing about Dolan’s anger is that he put the

ideaofsellingtheteam out there himself, in a 2018 interview

withESPN’sIanO’Connor. Dolan said that as CEO of a pub-

liccompany,heowed it to the shareholders to do what was

best,andif theright offer came along, he’d have to listen. He

alsosaidthatneither he nor his family wants to sell the team.

BTIGanalystBrandon Ross, who covers MSG, says that if the

Knickswereeverput up for sale, the team would “fetch a much

highervalue”thanthe Forbes estimate of $4 billion. There’s still

additionalvalueto be unlocked, he adds. For instance, they

couldgetbetterplayers. Or win games. Either of those things

wouldlikelyincrease attendance from last year’s 98% capac-

ityto100%andwould lead to highly profitable playoff rounds.

“Canyouimagineif they were good?” Ross asks.

TheDolansown less than 10% of MSG’s stock, but they con-

trolthevotingshares. No one can force Jim to do anything. “I

can’tevensuethem in Delaware court if I don’t like the deal,”

saysMarioGabelli, whose Gamco Investors is one of the com-

pany’slargestshareholders. And MSG is thriving. Renovations

totheGardenhave created more revenue streams, and Dolan

hasgreatlyexpanded MSG’s entertainment portfolio, adding

RadioCityMusicHall, the Beacon Theatre, and Los Angeles’s

Forum,amongother venues. Live entertainment venues are

extremelyvaluable right now, Gabelli says, because “millen-

i l d Gen Zlove live entertainment.”

atif thefans are right? What if the Knicks’ culture

won’t—change until Dolan is gone? “A lot of times

hangeis necessary,” former Knick Chris Childs says.

maybethat’s something they gotta think about.

ntyyears of unhappy ballplayers and unhappy

... something has to be done.”

hething is ... no, something doesn’t have to be

Whenpeople tell Dolan he’s not wanted, he looks

d hisfilled arena and sees thousands of reasons this

ong.“Take a look at our record and take a look at

r attendance,” he told Kay. Results don’t actually

tter.“Win or lose, we’re going to make roughly the

amountof money.”

G is Gabelli’s single largest holding. The shares are

orethan50% over the past three years—and that’s

dingwhat Gabelli calls “a discount for the Dolan

ption,”for the Knicks’ poor performance and bad

ity.TheKnicks couldn’t be worse. “Independent

, thevaluationhasgoneup,”hesays.“It’smore

51

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time with this. It

made him sym-

pathetic, a little”

NOAH: RON HOSKINS/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES; CURRY: RAY AMATI/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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EDDY

CURRY

Six years, $60 million. Played a total of 10 games his last three years.