As a real estate magnate, Donald Trump helped shape New York City’s skyline through the development of a number of skyscrapers. Now, as president, he’s shown interest in another bold project: relocating Madison Square Garden, one of the city’s most well-known landmarks.
He has listened to a proposal that would move the famed arena — which seats up to 20,000 people — in order to rebuild Penn Station, according to Gothamist. The station, a sprawling Beaux‑Arts structure, was demolished in the 1960s to make room for the stadium, but its underground concourses and platforms are still in use, servicing more than half a million daily riders.
A group of Trump supporters suggested the plan to the president during a White House meeting in September, multiple sources told the outlet. They represented the Grand Penn Community Alliance, a non-profit organization backed by Thomas Klingenstein, a conservative donor.
The audacious project — which has a price tag of about $7.5 billion — would include erecting classical columns at the train station’s entrance. Madison Square Garden would be relocated to Seventh Avenue, one block over.
The Oval Office sit-down, which had not previously been reported, took place four months before Amtrak named the proposal a finalist in the station's redevelopment plans. Two other finalists have been named, but few details about the project have since been revealed.
“The meeting and decision to move the proposal forward signal the president is considering the option to move the storied arena,” sources familiar with the matter told Gothamist.
However, the sources added that the 79-year-old president knows the plan is dead in the water without the support of James Dolan, the long-time owner of the arena. Dolan, who also owns the New York Knicks, explicitly ruled out relocating Madison Square Garden in 2023.
For decades, advocacy groups have been campaigning to revive the grandeur of the long-lost Penn Station.
“It was one of the greatest buildings we’ve had in this country, and it’s astonishing that we decided to tear it down,” architect Richard Cameron told Gothamist. “People think of it as an architectural crime that we wouldn’t have figured out the value of that building before destroying it is just extraordinary.”
The Grand Penn Alliance also sees their proposal as a way to transform the underground transit system, which is tangled and difficult to navigate.
But the plan is not without its detractors. Rep. Jerry Nadler, a New York Democrat, told the outlet that he has concerns about how Amtrak is moving forward with its selection process.
“We don’t know how it’s going to be financed … President Trump is involved and maybe he’ll select the winning bidder. On what criteria? We don’t know,” Nadler said. “The whole thing is secret.”
“As a New York native, President Trump is personally invested in revitalizing New York Penn Station,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said. “Any notion that the president is putting his finger on the scale unfairly is completely baseless.”
Klingenstein, the wealthy donor behind the proposal, who gave upwards of $13 million to Republicans in 2024, has suggested renaming the new Penn Station to “Trump Station,” according to Gothamist.
“This is the kind of thing that not only would Trump want to put his name on it, but should put his name on it,” he said. “If it comes to pass, it will be an example of one man — because Trump is the only one who can make this happen — doing a great thing.”
The president has reportedly had the same idea.
In February, he said he would unfreeze millions of dollars in federal funds for a $16 billion New York infrastructure project if Sen. Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, agreed to rename Penn Station, as well as Virginia's Dulles International Airport, after him, according to reports.
Iran-US war live: Trump extends ‘pause’ on strikes on energy facilities
Pete Hegseth given brutal new nickname by Pentagon staffers, report says
Gavin Newsom responds after Trump calls him stupid in Cabinet meeting: Live updates
Argentina follows Trump’s lead and labels notorious cartel a terrorist organization
Border Czar Tom Homan rejects Democrats’ calls for ICE agents to remove their masks
Joe Rogan says that Hilary Clinton and Obama were tougher on border than Trump
