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#Let me hold a benefit concert, with fans tested for COVID antibodies: James Dolan

#Let me hold a benefit concert, with fans tested for COVID antibodies: James Dolan

June 25, 2020 | 3:59pm

At Madison Square Garden we have some tough choices to make. We have weathered the shutdown well. However, the future is cloudy and filled with doubt. Will the Knicks and the Rangers play in front of fans? Will there be any tourists to see the Christmas Spectacular? We are not the only one with these problems.

New York City is an ecosystem. Every part of our city is connected in some form to the other. This is especially true when it comes to the sports and entertainment industry. It is Broadway and Lincoln Center, Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center and Radio City Music Hall, all the nightclubs, Citi Field and the USTA, the museums, art galleries, zoos and much more that make up the New York Experience. That experience draws 65 million visitors every year. They come here to dine and be entertained. They stay in our hotels and shop in our stores. They come for the experience. The same experience that makes living here great.

That part of our ecosystem feeds other parts. Real estate, finance, transportation, fashion, education, are all tied to the New York Experience. It is in trouble.

The longer it remains on hold, the more it decays. Restaurants and hotels going out of business. Sports events without fans. Theaters closed until sometime next year. Fine arts coming to a screeching halt. Business and industry conducting their daily work from home and maybe never returning to their offices. Will there be enough of the New York experience left to still draw people to our city? Or, will we be the Chernobyl of the coronavirus pandemic?

We all understand the need to keep everyone safe. Especially those at risk.

But I believe there is a way to safely host an event that will raise money for those in need, help scientists with data, and remind the world of the New York Experience: A benefit concert.

We at Madison Square Garden would love to host this event, and believe it can be done responsibly.

There are already an estimated 2 million New Yorkers who have COVID-19 antibodies and have cleared the virus. To date, it appears no one who has had the virus has been re-infected or passed the virus on.

For anyone who wanted to attend, the Garden would pay for antibody test beginning four weeks before the event. Those who pass will receive an antibody passport and be able to attend the show.

These test results would be shared with health agencies to add to the growing research into the coronavirus.

As we did with the 9/11 benefit show, The Concert for New York City, we would fill the floor with first responders and essential workers for free. All proceeds would go to COVID relief.

The concert would serve as an example of how we can resume our lives and stay safe. Fast-response testing and prescreened customers that do not need to distance are options to explore and test. We must have the will and desire to do so.

Our governments need to understand that the health of the city is not just measured by empty hospital beds. When we finally lift restrictions, how much of New York City will be left? How many more unemployed, homeless and shuttered businesses will there be? How many people will have permanently left the city? As of now, no one is coming here for Christmas.

New York is the greatest city in the world. There is much we can do to avoid the worst outcome to this crisis. We need to be creative, enterprising and open-minded. We came back from 9/11. We can come back from coronavirus.

James Dolan is Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Office of MSG Entertainment, and Executive Chairman of MSG Sports.

Source

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