Madison Square Garden announces plans to sell Liberty

Madison Square Garden is actively seeking a new owner for the WNBA’s New York Liberty.

James Dolan and the Madison Square Garden Company have announced plans to sell the New York Liberty. MSG is “actively seeking” a buyer to take over “immediate operations,” per the official press release.

The team was established in 1996 as one of the WNBA’s original eight franchises. They reached the league championship series in the WNBA’s inaugural season in 1997, and have won three other Eastern Conference titles.

In 2010, the team, along with Madison Square Garden itself, the Knicks and Rangers and several other sports and entertainment properties, was spun off from corporate parent Cablevision, becoming The Madison Square Garden Company.

The Liberty finished the 2017 season with the best record in the Eastern Conference, but lost to the Washington Mystics in the playoffs. After the season, coach Bill Laimbeer left the team for a job with the WNBA’s Las Vegas franchise.

Dolan reportedly considered selling the team in 2015 due to lagging attendance and financial concerns, but opted instead to make Isiah Thomas team president. Thomas had been forced out of a similar position with the Knicks after a sexual harassment scandal. Many observers thought the controversial hire was a ploy to rehabilitate Thomas’ image, with a long-term goal of bringing him back to the Knicks. It is not clear how Dolan’s relationship with Thomas will be affected by today’s announcement, or if Thomas will continue in his position under new ownership.

The original eight WNBA franchises were all owned by and tightly allied with “sibling” NBA teams. But of those eight, only the Liberty, Phoenix Mercury and Los Angeles Sparks remain in their original markets.

After the Liberty are sold, only four of the WNBA’s twelve franchises will be owned and operated by NBA “siblings” — the Indiana Fever (Pacers), Minnesota Lynx (Timberwolves), the Washington Mystics (Wizards) and the Mercury (Suns). The Sparks and Atlanta Dream share markets with the Lakers and Hawks, respectively, but are owned separately.

It seems reasonable to assume the league will do everything in its power to keep the Liberty in the New York media market, though that does not necessarily mean Madison Square Garden will continue to be their home.

The team has also played home games at Radio City Music Hall — when MSG played host to the Republican National Convention in 2004 — and at the Prudential Center in Newark for the 2011-2013 seasons, while MSG was under renovation.

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The Liberty will be the second WNBA franchise sold this offseason. The San Antonio Stars were purchased by MGM in October and will move to Las Vegas for the 2018 season.