MSG GOES SOLO

Madison Square Garden Entertainment’s first day as a standalone company had a solid first day on the New York Stock Exchange, gaining $6 a share to close at $67.11.

The sports-free spin-off, trading under the symbol MSGE, owns and operates Madison Square Garden, Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, Beacon Theatre, and The Chicago Theatre. MSG Entertainment is building the MSG Sphere at The Venetian in Las Vegas and plans to build a second Sphere in London.

MSG sold The Forum in Inglewood to Clippers owner Steve Ballmer last month.

On its first day of trading MSG Entertainment Executive Chairman and CEO James Dolan named Mark FitzPatrick as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. FitzPatrick was most recently Deputy Chief Financial Officer at WeWork. Andrew Lustgarten is President of MSG Entertainment.

“While the current environment presents significant challenges to our industry, we are confident in the future, and look forward to MSG Entertainment building on its reputation as a leader in live experiences,” Dolan said. “We believe [Mark FitzPatrick] is the ideal executive to help guide MSG Entertainment as we continue to pursue excellence across our operations.”