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\n\tJust how hot is the experience economy? So hot that Madison Square Garden<\/a>, which first opened its doors (at its current location at least) in 1968, will have more shows this summer than it ever has in the arena\u2019s history.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe\u2019ll be doing 57 shows at the Garden this summer, from June through August, which is the most shows that we\u2019ve actually ever done,\u201d says Josephine Vaccarello, executive VP of live at MSG Entertainment, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter<\/em>. \u201cOur second highest number was 37 so we\u2019re surpassing it by a pretty big chunk.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tBy now its obvious that, post-COVID, consumers are hungry for experiential entertainment. That has been evident in the boom in theme parks from the likes of Disney and NBCUniversal, not to mention soaring ticket prices and demand for top-tier concerts<\/a> and sporting events (courtside tickets at the Garden for the upcoming NBA Finals have topped $100,000 in some cases).<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI do think that people want that connectivity, they want to feel the same thing with people with like-minded people, and experience it live. There\u2019s really nothing like it, you know?\u201d Vaccarello says. \u201cWatching something on TV or video, sure, it\u2019s great, but there really is nothing like this feeling of standing in an arena with 18,000 people, with every single person singing every word to the same song.\u201d<\/p>\n