Rangers and Knicks fans, Billy Joel concertgoers, anyone who remembers Ali-Frazier, Linsanity, the Stones…may not take kindly to this referee’s call. But here goes:

We need a new Garden.

We need a palace, not an aging roundhouse, for our teams, our legends — and most of all, our fans.

Mr. Dolan, we haven’t met, but I’ve spent my life in arenas including MSG. I believe you have a unique opportunity now to unlock new, extraordinary value for your shareholders, and do the city a solid at the same time, with a rebuilt MSG. The 2013 facelift was an improvement, but didn’t solve the basic problem: the Garden is built on top of a decaying transportation hub, and change is coming.

MSG is old. That doesn’t mean the fans don’t love it. It’s part of who we are. But there are extraordinary new revenue opportunities for a new “Greatest Arena in the World.”

They tore down the Boston Garden, and Celtics and Bruins fans howled. Then TD Garden opened in the old building’s footprint, remade Boston’s North End, and delivered new revenue and fans to New York’s historic rival.

Bulls and Blackhawks fans mourned when Chicago Stadium died, but they took the grand old foghorn and organ over to the new United Center. There is a renaissance in West Chicago around it.

The Leafs at one point considered building a new Maple Leaf Gardens on top of Toronto’s Union Station. They ultimately decided to build the Air Canada Centre (now Scotiabank Place) a few blocks away. It changed the face of that city.

And we all recall the shock when the Yankees tore down the House that Ruth Built. But then a new stadium, with all its modern amenities, revived the team and the Bronx. And Monument Park remains. Who would go back?

The point is simple: fans rage when old buildings get torn down, but fall in love when better ones replace them. MSG is the oldest of all NHL and NBA arenas — 15 years older than Calgary’s Saddledome, 22 years older than Minneapolis’ Target Center, the two next oldest NHL and NBA arenas. Both are being replaced. Thirteen NBA and NHL arenas have opened since 2010, with six new venues in the works. Don’t New Yorkers deserve a new arena too?

The powers that be appear to agree that Penn Station needs to be replaced. But that’s almost impossible to do with MSG as its roof. More importantly, it won’t create a better or more valuable Garden.

Penn Station and MSG need a creative, New York-sized solution. A transportation hub is just a utility. But a new Garden delivers once-in-a-century drama, financial opportunity and civic enrichment. In concert, they can be more than just a train station and a venue, but the heart and the soul of a recreated Midtown Manhattan.

You’ve got the ball. Take the shot. Deliver a new Penn Station and a new Garden as compelling, 21st century attractions facing each other across Seventh Ave. The Garden retains its unique asset — location, location, location — but at a new address: Three Penn Plaza. MSG immediately becomes the centerpiece and commercial leader in next-gen North American sports and entertainment. Bigger bells. Louder whistles. Scoreboard wizardry, concert audio, compelling digital signage, more spectacular events, more corporate partnerships. Basically — just more, and better.

This is the moment Mr. Dolan. Build a new Garden, with rafters for the banners saluting New York’s past champions and heroes — and with plenty of room for new ones.

Prince is a former vice president of the NHL and principal of The Prince Companies, a sports and entertainment consulting firm.