The Sunnyside Garden was one of a few boxing arenas in New York City to survive into the television era, with most others being closed and demolished in the 1950s. While generally considered the last operational boxing club in New York, St. Nicholas Arena (which ceased hosting boxing matches in 1962) remained standing as a building longer.
The Sunnyside Garden Arena managed to profit and its fights were shown on Channel 5 on Friday nights. The television exposure that channel 5 had given arenas such as St. Nicholas and the Sunnyside Garden kept the arenas in operation in an era when many of their contemporaries were losing spectators to televised boxing matches.
