Replatforming the digital experience across MSG’s live entertainment ecosystem

MSG operates one of the most complex live entertainment ecosystems in the world — spanning sports franchises, entertainment productions, and venue operations.

I led design across this ecosystem to unify digital products across websites, apps, ticketing systems, and in-venue experiences.

ROLE Director, UX

FOCUS Design Strategy, Exection & Stakeholder Management

TIMELINE 2018 — 2021

+28%

Ticket Sales Growth

+40%

Fan Engagement

+23%

Conversion Lift

The Inflection Point

MSG’s digital products had evolved independently across teams and brands.

Ticketing, fan engagement, venue experiences, and editorial platforms operated as separate systems — creating friction across the fan journey.

As MSG expanded its portfolio of sports teams, entertainment productions, and venues, the organization needed a unified digital platform capable of supporting millions of fans across events.

This moment became the inflection point to re-architect the ecosystem.

01 CHALLENGE

Unifying discovery, ticketing, and live venue experiences.

To support this transformation we rebuilt the digital platform across several layers — aligning discovery, ticketing, venue operations, and fan engagement into a cohesive system.

02 PLATFORM TRANSFORMATION

Key Systems Introduced

  • MSG’s venues and franchises previously operated separate digital properties with inconsistent event discovery and ticketing flows.

    We consolidated these into a shared platform architecture that supported multiple brands while standardizing navigation, event discovery, and purchasing across properties.

  • We designed mobile applications that supported the full event lifecycle — from discovery and ticket access to in-venue navigation and services.

    Mobile evolved from a marketing channel into a core product supporting real-time fan experiences.

  • We introduced a unified ticket discovery model centered around interactive seat maps, event calendars, and contextual event pages.

    These tools helped fans understand availability and pricing faster, reducing purchase friction and improving ticket conversion.

  • Digital services extended beyond ticket purchase into the live venue experience.

    Fans could access concessions, hospitality services, and venue information directly through mobile — improving convenience while supporting venue operations.

  • We developed a shared design system and component architecture supporting multiple franchises and venues.

    This foundation enabled consistent experiences across web, mobile, and venue platforms while significantly improving development velocity.

Turning Fan Discovery into Ticket Revenue

We redesigned core discovery systems — including event calendars, interactive seat maps, and ticket purchasing flows — to reduce friction between fan intent and ticket purchase.

03 MONETIZATION

  • Rebuilt seat map infrastructure to help fans understand venue layout, compare pricing tiers, and purchase tickets directly within the browsing experience.

    The system supported dynamic pricing, seat availability updates, and cross-device purchasing.

    Key impact:

    • Faster ticket discovery
    • Higher seat confidence
    • Improved conversion in checkout flows

  • Introduced a redesigned calendar system enabling fans to browse events across venues, teams, and entertainment properties.

    The system connected directly to ticket inventory and allowed users to move from event discovery to purchasing in a single flow.

    Key impact:

    • Simplified event discovery
    • Increased browsing depth
    • Reduced drop-off before ticket purchase

  • Redesigned purchasing flows to reduce friction across mobile and desktop.

    Improvements included simplified checkout, clearer pricing breakdowns, and improved cross-platform continuity.

    Key impact:

    • Faster purchase completion
    • Higher mobile conversion
    • Reduced abandonment

  • Created digital pathways for premium seating, suite bookings, and hospitality experiences.

    These tools enabled fans to discover and purchase higher-value experiences while giving venue teams better control over inventory.

    Key impact:

    • Increased premium ticket revenue
    • Improved visibility of hospitality inventory

Deep Dive

Building the First Venue App

To connect digital and physical experiences, we introduced the first unified MSG venue mobile platform.

The app supported the full fan journey — from ticket purchase to in-venue services.

Core Experiences

• Mobile ticket management
• Seat upgrades and premium access
• Concession ordering
• Event discovery and venue navigation

+405%

Weekly Downloads

4.7

App Store Rating

+125%

Active Daily Users

04 PLATFORM DESIGN SYSTEMS

Scaling Experiences Across Teams, Venues, and Brands

MSG operates multiple entertainment brands — each with distinct audiences and experiences.


To support rapid product development across teams, we introduced shared design infrastructure while allowing brand-specific expression across properties.

  • Established a component and interaction system powering Knicks web and mobile experiences.

    The system enabled consistent fan engagement patterns across editorial content, ticket purchasing, and team experiences.

    Impact:

    • Faster feature rollout across Knicks digital properties
    • Consistent mobile and web experiences
    • Scalable fan engagement infrastructure

  • Developed a flexible design system supporting the highly seasonal Rockettes experience.

    The system enabled rapid updates to marketing pages, ticket flows, and merchandise experiences during peak holiday periods.

    Impact:

    • Faster seasonal campaign launches
    • Improved ticket purchase flows
    • Scalable promotional content infrastructure

  • Created a shared component system for the MSG venue mobile platform.

    The system supported ticket management, concessions ordering, event discovery, and in-venue services across Madison Square Garden events.

    Impact:

    • Consistent fan experience across events
    • Faster product iteration
    • Cross-venue scalability

  • Design systems also supported internal tools used by venue teams, enabling faster updates to event scheduling, ticket inventory, and hospitality offerings.

    Impact:

    • Reduced operational friction
    • Faster product development cycles
    • Shared infrastructure across teams

Operating Model

MSG operates across multiple business lines — including sports franchises, entertainment productions, and venue operations.

Design functioned as a connective layer across these groups, aligning product strategy with business and operational goals.

Rather than operating within a single product team, I partnered across executives, product leaders, engineering teams, and venue stakeholders to move initiatives from strategy through implementation.

This required moving fluidly between:

• Executive stakeholders across sports and entertainment divisions


• Product and engineering teams responsible for digital platforms


• Venue operations teams supporting live events and hospitality


• Ticketing and commerce teams responsible for revenue systems

Building a Long-Term Economic Engine

By unifying discovery, ticketing, and venue experiences into a cohesive platform, MSG transformed its digital ecosystem into a scalable revenue engine.

+28%

Unique Visitors

+40%

Engagement

+23%

Conversion

Reflections

This work demonstrated how design can operate as a strategic lever within complex entertainment platforms — aligning fan experience, operational systems, and revenue infrastructure into a unified product ecosystem.

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