The Garden takes a huge chunk on merchandise sales, so I suspect it is not cost effective to design and produce event-specific merchandise, ship it in, and sell it. Even at a large mark-up, I imagine it is break even at best with a risk of loss due to unsold shirts, etc. The only way to make money in the Garden is to sell "tour" shirts where your low margins are offset by high margins in other venues (and your unsolds can be shipped to the next town).
I think the biggest problem with the Millrose Games is the track. If you are going to bring in the best of the best, why put them on such a slow track. 11 laps to a mile is ridiculous. You know when guys like Bernard Lagat who have run in the low 3:40's in a mile end up running 3:55, that it it slow. If the Garden can't handle a bigger track, the Armory is perfect. I ran a 5k there today and had no problems at all with the turns or banked sides---unlike the millrose track.
How many fans will go to 168St to see a meet? If 1/3 the number that came to MSG dropped up to The Armory half of them would be left out in the cold.
sam weiser wrote:
I think the biggest problem with the Millrose Games is the track. If you are going to bring in the best of the best, why put them on such a slow track. 11 laps to a mile is ridiculous. You know when guys like Bernard Lagat who have run in the low 3:40's in a mile end up running 3:55, that it it slow. If the Garden can't handle a bigger track, the Armory is perfect. I ran a 5k there today and had no problems at all with the turns or banked sides---unlike the millrose track.