NBA commissioner David Stern announced yesterday that Orlando will play host to the 2012 All-Star Game — but, The Post has learned, a renovated Madison Square Garden is expected to get an All-Star Game sometime after that.
The Garden originally applied to hold the 2012 game, before it was determined the arena’s renovations may not be finished until the start of the 2012-13 season, if not later.
The Garden is expected to secure an All-Star Game — along with possibly the Final Four — once its massive transformation is finished, sources told The Post.
The Garden transformation could be finished in time for the 2013 All-Star Game, but that is not certain. A source said the total cost of the transformation is now between $775 million and $850 million, which the Garden will pay itself.
The 2013 or 2014 All-Star Game is just the tip of the iceberg for the Garden. Sources say executives have set their sights on a future Final Four.
The renovation already has begun with preparatory work that the public cannot see. The upgrades will be done in at least two stages, after which the whole arena will be transformed, save for the outside and the famous Garden ceiling.