The banner honoring Phish's historic 13-night run in Madison Square Garden will remain - but there's a catch
The extravaganza, stretching from July 21 to Sunday, is the second-longest run in the history of the "World's Most Famous Arena" behind only Billy Joel's ongoing monthly residency at the Garden and marked the 52nd show for Phish at MSG.
The final night of Phish's stretch culminated with a banner commemorating the event being hoisted into the rafters of the arena.
Previous events at the Garden have included banner-raising ceremonies that were not permanent, leading to questions about whether that was the case for the Baker's Dozen.
According to a source familiar with the situation, the venue plans on keeping the banner hanging in the MSG rafters. But there is a caveat - the banner could come down if another act surpasses the record number of 13 consecutive engagements. So long as no one tops the feat performed by Phish, the banner is safe.
"The plan is to keep it up there," the source told Business Insider.
Previous events have featured seemingly permanent banners that later turned out to be gimmicks only for those events.
For instance, a banner honoring professional wrestler Hulk Hogan was raised at a WWE event at MSG, seemingly a permanent reminder of the performer's legacy at the Garden, only to be taken down the next day. WWE told Business Insider at the time that the commemorative drapery was "just part of the show."
As long as the banner honoring Phish remains in the rafters, it will join others commemorating retired numbers and championships by sports teams who play at the Garden, including the New York Knicks, Liberty, and Rangers. Billy Joel also has a banner in honor of his aforementioned run and myriad other engagements at the venue.
Phish's 13-show run concluded Sunday with a proclamation from New York Mayor Bill de Blasio that August 6, 2017 would hereby be known as "Phish Day" in the city.
Phish returns to the stage for its annual series of concerts over Labor Day weekend in Commerce City, Colorado.
Here's video of the banner being raised posted by Madison Square Garden's official Twitter account: