Madison Square Garden (New York, NY)

Okay I'll admit I've been to a lot of games at the garden but never have I looked at it objectively. When you think of New York you probably think of the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building and many other popular sites, one of them may even be MSG which for those who haven't seen it is not square. Honestly when they parody it in Futurama they should've made Madison Cube Garden a Sphere because the exterior is round (yes I know it's named after the city "square" concept such as an area boxed in by four streets). Really what you should think when you hear New York is $$$$$. Recently they preformed a one billion dollar renovation to the garden and it shows. It's interior is a light modern concept and the concourses are very open but the level 200 concourse is a little tight When you're walking around the ends. The exterior seems to not have benefited from the renovation and remains a bit dated but it's what's on the inside that counts right?

Seats:
The price of the seats does not spare the expense of NYC, face value of my ticket was $155, even for the best view I felt this is pricey, maybe not glass seating but I was in section 200. Even still $85 face value for upper level touching the ceiling is a little hard to stomach.
I will say that the seats were the most comfortable stadium seat I've been in. When you sit in the Lower level from rows 10 to 15 right behind the net there is a blocked view behind the net which is frustrating. This is caused by an angle change in the seating due to the seats going more vertical for the front 5 rows or so. MSG also has the Chase Bridge which hangs over the upper level on the sides. The seating seems like a good option to have and gives you a more vertical view of the ice. In the 200 Level Seating the first row has TVs you can watch fox, the Jumbotron feed, ESPN, or the live broadcast feed.

Concessions:
There are plenty of options for food in MSG. You may have to walk to find what suits you but there is a chance that they'll have it. The Beer stops flowing at the beginning of the 3rd and the Blue moon is apparently imported from Colorado. If you're looking for any sort of selection beyond Bud and Bud-light find the Garden Pub, which has several NY beers. They do have Slush cocktails like you would find at a Mardi-Gras in Vegas or a bar in New Orleans. Also the staff at several of the concession counters let you know it was a hassle to modify menu items such as asking for something without onions or to add Jalapeños (even though they don't have any). Here is a list of things I was able to note prices as I walked around:

• Fancy dogs (Peppers, Onions, Cheese, Marinara) - $10.50
• Personal pizza - $10
• Beer - $10 or $11
• Hot dog - $5 Regular, $7 foot long
• Peanuts: $5
• Nachos - $6.50 Just Cheese - $11 Fancy (Add Sour Cream, Tomatoes, Guacamole), $14 (w/ Meat)
• Chicken Sandwich - $14.50
• Corned Beef or Pastrami - $15
• Liquor - $11 or $12 (A shot and a mixer)
• Pretzel - $5.50 (I think this includes cheese but if not cheese is $2)

They also really enjoy Dijon Mustard in NYC so if you're a fan of yellow mustard you are out of luck.
MSG has quite a few bathrooms. They do have designated entrances and exits but relatively no room within the bathroom. The good news is that there are Beer shelves above all of the urinals, the bad news is that there are long lines that stretch far into the concourses. If you encounter one of these long lines you're best bet might be going in the opposite direction, chances are that you may hit the bathroom with the short line, or miss out on some action. If you go right when the period ends the line will move fast enough for you to do your business and grab another beer.

Game Experience:

It's easy to see that they stress tradition in MSG and play the original 6 card constantly. Now I'm not being bitter I love the fact that they do their original 6 thing. The problem that I have is that they hype the building just as much as the team. You're watching the New York Rangers playing in Madison Square Garden. However, there is no shortage of heritage, it just might not be all hockey related, around the arena for every day of the year an event is displayed that happened at MSG on that day.
In between periods they have various fan events, commentated Mini-Mites shots to win cars or trips around the world. They are happy to throw t-shirts out at every TV timeout. They also honor lifetime season ticket holders so you can see the people that have been going to the Rangers games since the 40's or whose grandparents bought into the early NHL team. Also every single night they showcase the celebrities that came out that night some nights its a random NY Giant or Knicks Player other nights like tonight it is Tom Hanks, Laura Prepon, Steven Yeun, and Chad Coleman.  Really the celebrities have nothing to do with the game but it can be fun to see.
I can say that the announcements are very clear and the announcer has the stereotypical announcer voice. He waits until the cheers are done and whether its the sound system or his voice he stands out and commands your attention. Speaking of Cheers when the Rangers score they have a very distinctive "Hey hey hey" Cheer that is fantastic to hear. I'm sure there are some youtube videos of it but it comes from a Fan Base that's insanely happy for a goal.
The ushers are really good about keeping people from going to their seats during play. Really the only terrible thing I noticed is that they have all out TV commercials during the game, which is a little hard to stomach.

Other:
MSG is build immediately on top of Penn Station where the Amtrak, Subway, NJ-Transit all interconnect. If you can't find your way to where you're going try drinking a little less.

New York Rangers 3 - Toronto Maple Leafs 6