The NBA has postponed Tuesday night's New York Knicks game against the Orlando Magic due to an asbestos problem at Madison Square Garden, of all things. From the official Garden release:
Following last night’s Rangers game, during overnight maintenance of Madison Square Garden, which included cleaning asbestos-related materials in the attic above the ceiling, some debris fell into the Arena.
Out of an abundance of caution, and after consulting with the NBA, we are postponing tonight’s Knicks v. Magic game. We will be working with the city and independent experts, ATC Associates and GCI Environmental Advisory, to evaluate and determine the most appropriate course of action. As the safety of our customers and employees are our top priority, we will not reopen the Garden until we are absolutely assured the Arena is safe.
That last sentence is particularly important: Future Knicks games at MSG could also be postponed or moved to other locations, as Frank Isola suggests.
The release advises ticketholders for tonight's game to keep their tickets, and to check the team's website, nyknicks.com, for rescheduling information.
The cleaning effort which caused this incident is part of a major renovation project scheduled to be completed in time for the next season for the Knicks and Rangers.
And the timing of the event jives nicely with a remark Magic center Marcin Gortat made about New York City yesterday: "It’s an incredible city, great city, great fans, a lot of fans, a lot of famous people … but one of the memories I’ve got is it’s a dirty place and it smells bad."