New York Liberty to stay under control of Dolan, MSG for now

On Tuesday, the Associated Press’ Doug Feinberg reported that the New York Liberty will stay under the ownership of James Dolan’s Madison Square Garden Company and not be sold. Dolan put the franchise up for sale in mid-November 2017. Launched in 1996, the Liberty is one of the original WNBA franchises.

“We have been a strong and vocal advocate for the Liberty and the WNBA since the beginning. As the last original owner, I am proud of how far the league has come, and the role we have played in its growth,” Dolan, the Garden’s chairman and interim CEO, said in a press release in November about the sale. “This was a difficult decision for us, which we made after carefully assessing the needs of our business. We are confident that new ownership can build on the foundation we established over these last 21 years, and steward this incredible franchise into an even more successful future.”

According to the AP, the team will play most of their games at the Westchester County Center in White Plains with some games scheduled at MSG in Manhattan. The Westchester Knicks, the NBA G League affiliate of the New York Knicks, already play at the venue.

Katie Smith was named the head coach of the Liberty in October. The Las Vegas Aces hired NY’s former head coach Bill Laimbeer in December to be the team’s coach and head of basketball operations.

“While we have had numerous interested parties, we are going to continue to operate the team until we identify the right new owner to steward this valuable New York franchise. We will have more to share soon,” Madison Square Garden Company President Andy Lustgarten said to the AP.