NEW YORK -- The owners of Madison Square Garden made good on their promise to drop a move one block west and instead renovate the home of the Knicks, Rangers and Liberty.

IMAGES: Madison Square Garden: Before And After Renovations

MSG will spend $500 million to remake nearly all of the public spaces -- opening up all of the concourse areas and main entrance to the outside.

In announcing this renovation, MSG Vice Chairman Hank Ratner said this ends any possibility of the Garden moving to the 9th Avenue side of the Farley Post Office building as part of a huge redevelopment of the area. That plan would have used the unused air rights over the Garden to build a giant office tower, cleared the area to build a new Penn Station and used the 8th Avenue side of Farley for a new Moynihan Station. That plan, involving two of the city's biggest developers, has run into big problems since the credit crisis and may now be essentially dead.

Cablevision, which owns the Garden, will make big changes inside the 40-year-old arena, as well. The luxury suites, which with their hefty tabs are major moneymakers, will be brought down from the rafters to a more suitable mid-level position. Another 20 will be situated just below floor level at courtside allowing those with prized courtside/rinkside seats to have direct access to their own little party place just steps away. No other arena in the country offers anything like it.

For the rest of us, the top level will be turned over to restaurants and bars and be cantilevered over the stands, allowing for some truly awesome, and probably a bit scary, views almost directly over the court/rink. The second level will also be a bit steeper to improve sightlines.

MSG will have to close during the summers until the work is done but there will be no disruption to any sports seasons. Construction is slated to start after the basketball season next year and run through the opening of the 2011-2012 basketball/hockey seasons in the fall of 2011.