NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- When the owners of one New York City bar bet big on the Knicks, they didn’t expect to be cutting prices by a whopping 37%.
As the New York Knicks prepared for Game 4 against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, The Jeffrey, a beer garden on the Upper East Side, ran a promotion: For each point in the Knicks’ margin of victory, the bar would reduce patrons’ bills by 1%. The plan was to draw a crowd.
Then, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns powered the Knicks to a 130-93 win on Monday night, sending the team to the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years — and earning lucky customers at The Jeffrey a 37% discount.
The 37-point blowout was enough to wipe out not only the Cavs, but also any profits for The Jeffrey that night.
“We took one for the team,” said Andrew Freedman, the bar’s co-founder, who is also a co-managing partner at the Olshan Frome Wolosky law firm.
It’s a sentiment shared seemingly across the city after years of disappointment for Knicks fans.
“We took a little bit of a hit, but for the Knicks to make it to their first Finals in 27 years, it was worth every penny,” Freedman said.
The Knicks have dispatched opponents by double digits in all but one of their playoff victories, but Freedman said they went ahead with the marketing gambit anyway to join in the city’s frenzy. In an Instagram post before the game, The Jeffrey said that its promo was for “the believers” and that customers had to start their tab before halftime. “Win by 10? That’s 10% off,” the post read. “Win by 30? Don’t even want to think about it.”
Knicks fans celebrate winning the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers in New York City on May 25. David Dee Delgado/Getty Images via Bloomberg
The total discount for customers amounted to $2,750, Freedman said. While he said the cost isn’t “chump change,” his team plans to draft plans for more promotions when the NBA Finals start June 3. One idea is to roll back prices to 1999, the last time the Knicks reached the Finals, or 1973, when the team last won the championship, he said.
New York City has fully embraced Knicks fever. Many subway commuters Tuesday morning donned Knicks gear. Mayor Zohran Mamdani celebrated the Knicks’ 4-0 series win over the Cavaliers on social media by posting, “@NYCSanitation I’d like to report a sweep.” Shares of Madison Square Garden Sports Corp., which owns the Knicks and the New York Rangers, rose to a new intraday record.
The frenzy will continue as the city braces for an influx of tourists for the NBA Finals. If it goes to a sixth game, Madison Square Garden will host a potential championship crowning event on the same day that France and Senegal face off in the World Cup at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Fans are bracing for astronomical prices if they want to attend a Finals game at Madison Square Garden. The cheapest ticket listed on StubHub for Game 3 costs more than $3,500.
Mamdani said during a press conference that the city will organize NBA Finals watch parties for residents to come together and cheer on the Knicks. “This is an incredible moment for this city,” he said. “We’re excited about making it easier for New Yorkers to celebrate.”
