New York City will allow a watch party outside Madison Square Garden for Game 1 of the N.B.A. finals on Wednesday, a sudden reversal after it had declined to permit such gatherings, a spokesman for MSG Sports, the group that owns the Knicks, confirmed on Wednesday.
The parties had been canceled after multiple arrests and general chaos outside the arena last week when the Knicks won Game 4 of their previous series, sending them to their first finals in 27 years.
Sam Raskin, a spokesman for City Hall, said in a statement that Mayor Zohran Mamdani was pleased that watch parties were moving forward outside Madison Square Garden and across the city.
“Our administration is proud to support these efforts and give New Yorkers opportunities to come together and celebrate this historic Knicks run,” Mr. Raskin said in a statement.
A police spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
The decision to reinstate the often raucous party came after discussions among the mayor’s office, the Police Department and Madison Square Garden, according to a source with knowledge of the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly on the discussions. Permits for future watch parties outside the Garden will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
Fans have been eager to watch the team as close as possible to the Garden, one of basketball’s best-known venues, often called “the Mecca.” But tickets for a watch party inside the stadium sold out within an hour on Monday.
While watch parties outside the Garden had been canceled, others in the area went forward with celebrating. After the Knicks clinched the Eastern Conference finals to advance to the finals last week, thousands of fans left a watch party at Radio City Music Hall and made their way to Madison Square Garden, blocking traffic for hours while they celebrated.
Over the last few Knicks seasons, parties outside Madison Square Garden have become a ritual, with fans crowding into busy Midtown Manhattan blocks to embrace, dance and drink. Some even climbed lampposts.
But the police have been wary of the watch parties, which have grown increasingly unwieldy in recent years, with some fans pinning the blame for the chaos on viral videos that showed Knicks fans acting rowdy for the cameras. Last month, City Hall canceled watch parties, though fans still congregated outside the Garden after the Knicks won Game 4 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the police arrested six people there.
Mr. Mamdani has been outspoken in his support for New York City’s sports culture. With the World Cup set to begin in New Jersey next week, the mayor has laid forth initiatives for events surrounding the matches. Last month, he allocated 1,000 affordable tickets to give to New Yorkers via a lottery.
As the Knicks advanced in the playoffs, Mr. Mamdani sneaked into a game on a nosebleed ticket he paid for himself. On Wednesday, ahead of the finals tipoff, Mr. Mamdani posted a video to his social media accounts that showed him celebrating outside Madison Square Garden.
Jessica S. Tisch, the police commissioner, for her part, has expressed concerns about maintaining order amid the excitement. In City Council testimony on Monday, she asked council members to acknowledge the demands that the crush of major upcoming sporting events would place on the Police Department.
“We would like to facilitate a lot, perhaps we will be able to facilitate everything,” she said, adding, “But there will be a lot of celebrating in New York City.”
Jonah E. Bromwich contributed reporting.