Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. (MSGE) Risk Factors

Our business is subject to the general powers of federal, state and local governments, as well as foreign governmental authorities. We are also subject to the rules, regulations and decisions of the NBA and NHL to the extent such rules, regulations and decisions impact Knicks and Rangers home games. - Public Health and Safety. As a result of government mandated assembly limitations and closures implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, our venues were unable to host events for the substantial majority of Fiscal Year 2021. There can be no assurance that some or all of these restrictions will not be imposed again in the future due to increased infection rates of COVID-19 (including variants) or another pandemic. We are unable to predict what the long-term effects of these events, including renewed government regulations or requirements, will be. For example, future governmental regulations adopted in response to the COVID-19 or another pandemic or public health emergency may impact the revenue we derive and/or the expenses we incur from the events that we choose to host, such that events that were historically profitable would instead result in losses. See "- Risks Related to Our Business - Our operations and operating results were materially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and actions taken in response by governmental authorities and certain professional sports leagues, and a resurgence of the pandemic or another pandemic or other public health emergency could adversely affect our business and results of operations."- Hospitality-related Permits/Licenses. We hold liquor licenses at each of our venues and are subject to licensing requirements with respect to the sale of alcoholic beverages in the jurisdictions in which we serve those beverages. Failure to receive or retain, or the suspension of, liquor licenses or permits could interrupt or terminate our ability to serve alcoholic beverages at the applicable venue and could have a material negative effect on our business and our results of operations. Additional regulation relating to liquor licenses may limit our activities in the future or significantly increase the cost of compliance, or both. In the jurisdictions in which our venues are located, we are subject to statutes that generally provide that serving alcohol to a visibly intoxicated or minor patron is a violation of the law and may provide for strict liability for certain damages arising out of such violations. Our liability insurance coverage may not be adequate or available to cover any or all such potential liability. - Environmental Laws. We and our venues are subject to environmental laws and regulations relating to the use, disposal, storage, emission and release of hazardous and non-hazardous substances, as well as zoning and noise level restrictions which may affect, among other things, the operations of our venues. Compliance with these regulations and the associated costs may be heightened as a result of the purchase, construction or renovation of a venue. Additionally, certain laws and regulations could hold us strictly, jointly and severally responsible for the remediation of hazardous substance contamination at our facilities or at third-party waste disposal sites, as well as for any personal injury or property damage related to any contamination. Our liability insurance coverage may not be adequate or available to cover any or all such potential liability. - Zoning and Building Regulations. Our venues are subject to zoning and building regulations including permits relating to the operation of The Garden. The Garden requires a zoning special permit, which was originally granted by the New York City Planning Commission in 1963 and renewed in July 2013 for 10 years (while our current application for renewal of the zoning special permit remains pending, we have been advised that we can continue to use and operate The Garden as normal until the renewal review process concludes). As part of our special permit application, we have proposed making improvements to The Madison Square Garden Complex, including new entrances to Penn Station and improved public areas around the perimeter of The Garden. Relevant rail agencies are considering proposals to redevelop Penn Station, which proposed redevelopment would impact The Garden, which sits atop Penn Station (and could impact the Theater at Madison Square Garden, which is part of The Garden complex, depending on the outcome of negotiations between relevant stakeholders, including us). Certain government officials and special interest groups have used and may continue to use the renewal process for the zoning special permit to pressure us to make financial contributions to the redevelopment of Penn Station, relocate or transfer all or portions of The Madison Square Garden Complex. For example, in June 2023 the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New Jersey Transit and Amtrak, which operate commuter rail services from Penn Station, issued a compatibility report asserting that The Garden imposes severe constraints on Penn Station that restrict efforts to make its desired improvements. The report also called for the Company to make significant cash contributions and property transfers to facilitate the Penn Station redevelopment. There can be no assurance regarding the future renewal of the special permit or the terms thereof (including requirements for us to make significant capital expenditures as a condition to renewal of the permit), and the failure to obtain such renewal or to do so on favorable terms would have a material negative effect on our business. - Data Privacy. We are subject to various data privacy and protection laws, regulations, policies and contractual obligations that apply to the collection, transmission, storage, processing and use of personal information or personal data, which, among other things, impose certain requirements relating to the privacy and security of personal information. The variety of laws and regulations governing data privacy and protection, and the use of the internet as a commercial medium, are rapidly evolving, extensive and complex, and may include provisions and obligations that are inconsistent with one another or uncertain in their scope or application. The data protection landscape is rapidly evolving in the United States. As our operations and business grow, we may become subject to or affected by new or additional data protection laws and regulations and face increased scrutiny or attention from regulatory authorities. For example, California has passed a comprehensive data privacy law, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (the "CCPA"), and a number of other states, including Virginia, Colorado, Utah and Connecticut have also passed similar laws, and additional states may do so in the near future. Additionally, the California Privacy Rights Act (the "CPRA") imposes additional data protection obligations on covered businesses, including additional consumer rights procedures and obligations, limitations on data uses, new audit requirements for higher-risk data, and constraints on certain uses of sensitive data. The majority of the CPRA provisions went into effect on January 1, 2023, and additional compliance investment and potential business process changes may be required. Further, there are several legislative proposals in the United States, at both the federal and state level, that could impose new privacy and security obligations. We cannot yet determine the impact that these future laws and regulations may have on our business. In addition, governmental authorities and private litigants continue to bring actions against companies for online collection, use, dissemination and security practices that are unfair or deceptive. Our business is, and may in the future be, subject to a variety of other laws and regulations, including licensing, permitting, and historic designation and similar requirements; working conditions, labor, immigration and employment laws; health, safety and sanitation requirements; and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (and related state and local statutes). Any changes to the legal and regulatory framework applicable to our business, especially in the rapidly evolving area of data privacy or to a lesser extent public health and safety, could have an adverse impact on our business and our failure to comply with applicable governmental laws and regulations, or to maintain necessary permits or licenses, could result in liability or government actions that could have a material negative effect on our business and results of operations.

Through our operations, we collect and store, including by electronic means, certain personal, proprietary and other sensitive information, including payment card information, that is provided to us through purchases, registration on our websites, mobile applications, or otherwise in communication or interaction with us. These activities require the use of online services and centralized data storage, including through third-party service providers. Data maintained in electronic form is subject to the risk of security incidents, including breach, compromise, intrusion, tampering, theft, destruction, misappropriation or other malicious activity. Our ability to safeguard such personal and other sensitive information, including information regarding the Company and our customers, sponsors, partners and employees, independent contractors and vendors, is important to our business. We take these matters seriously and take significant steps to protect our stored information, including the implementation of systems and processes to thwart malicious activity. These protections are costly and require ongoing monitoring and updating as technologies change and efforts to overcome security measures become more sophisticated. See "- Economic and Operational Risks - We are subject to extensive governmental regulation and our failure to comply with these regulations may have a material negative effect on our business and results of operations." Despite our efforts, the risks of a security incident cannot be entirely eliminated and our information technology and other systems that maintain and transmit consumer, sponsor, partner, Company, employee and other confidential and proprietary information may be compromised due to employee error or other circumstances such as malware or ransomware, viruses, hacking and phishing attacks, denial-of-service attacks, business email compromises, or otherwise. A compromise of our or our vendors' systems could affect the security of information on our network or that of a third-party service provider. Additionally, outside parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees, vendors or users to disclose sensitive, proprietary or confidential information in order to gain access to data and systems. As a result, our or our customers' or affiliates' sensitive, proprietary and/or confidential information may be lost, disclosed, accessed or taken without consent. For example, in November 2016, a payment card issue that affected cards used at merchandise and food and beverage locations at several of our New York venues and The Chicago Theatre was identified and addressed with the assistance of security firms. The issue was promptly fixed and enhanced security measures were implemented. We also continue to review and enhance our security measures in light of the constantly evolving techniques used to gain unauthorized access to networks, data, software and systems. We may be required to incur significant expenses in order to address any actual or potential security incidents that arise and we may not have insurance coverage for any or all of such expenses. If we experience an actual or perceived security incident, our ability to conduct business may be interrupted or impaired, we may incur damage to our systems, we may lose profitable opportunities or the value of those opportunities may be diminished and we may lose revenue as a result of unlicensed use of our intellectual property. Unauthorized access to or security breaches of our systems could result in the loss of data, loss of business, severe reputational damage adversely affecting customer or investor confidence, diversion of management's attention, regulatory investigations and orders, litigation, indemnity obligations, damages for contract breach, penalties for violation of applicable laws or regulations and significant costs for remediation that may include liability for stolen or lost assets or information and repair of system damage that may have been caused, incentives offered to customers or other business partners in an effort to maintain business relationships after a breach and other liabilities. In addition, in the event of a security incident, changes in legislation may increase the risk of potential litigation. For example, the CCPA, which provides a private right of action (in addition to statutory damages) for California residents whose sensitive personal information is breached as a result of a business' violation of its duty to reasonably secure such information, took effect on January 1, 2020 and was expanded by the CPRA, which took effect in January 2023. A number of other states have passed similar laws and additional states may do so in the near future. Our insurance coverage may not be adequate to cover the costs of a data breach, indemnification obligations or other liabilities. In addition, in some instances, we may have obligations to notify relevant stakeholders of security breaches. Such mandatory disclosures are costly, could lead to negative publicity, may cause our customers to lose confidence in the effectiveness of our security measures and may require us to expend significant capital and other resources to respond to or alleviate problems caused by an actual or perceived security breach.

Our business depends upon the ability and willingness of consumers and businesses to purchase tickets at our venues, license suites and club memberships at The Garden, spend on food and beverages and merchandise, and drive continued sponsorship and signage revenues, and these revenues are sensitive to general economic conditions, recession, fears of recession and consumer behavior. For example, following the 2008 financial crisis, we experienced a lower level of event bookings and reduced renewals of certain of our suite licenses, which adversely affected the Company's results of operations. Further, the industry is often affected by changes in consumer tastes, national, regional and local economic conditions, discretionary spending priorities (including spending on leisure travel), demographic trends, traffic patterns and the type, number and location of competing businesses. Consumer and corporate spending has in the past declined and may in the future decline at any time for reasons beyond our control. The risks associated with our businesses generally become more acute in periods of a slowing economy or recession, which may be accompanied by reductions in corporate sponsorship and signage and decreases in attendance at live events, among other things, which we have experienced in the past and may experience in the future. In addition, inflation, which has significantly risen, has increased and may continue to increase operational costs, including labor costs, and continued increases in interest rates in response to concerns about inflation may have the effect of further increasing economic uncertainty and heightening these risks. As a result, instability and weakness of the U.S. and global economies, disruptions to financial markets, inflation, recession, high unemployment, geopolitical events, including any prolonged effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic or other similar outbreak or public health emergency, and the resulting negative effects on consumers' and businesses' discretionary spending, have in the past materially negatively affected, and may in the future materially negatively affect our business and results of operations. A prolonged period of reduced consumer or corporate spending, including with respect to sponsorship, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, could have an adverse effect on our business and our results of operations. See "- Risks Related to Our Business - Our operations and operating results were materially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and actions taken in response by governmental authorities and certain professional sports leagues, and a resurgence of the pandemic or another pandemic or other public health emergency could adversely affect our business and results of operations."