Carmelo Anthony says if the Knicks work half as hard as the construction crews rebuilding Madison Square Garden, the team will breeze through next season.
“I can’t complain about my summer after seeing what these guys have been doing,” the star forward said of the $850 million construction site. “They’re working 24/7 to get this thing done.
A thousand construction workers have been splitting round-the-clock shifts to complete the first phase of the renovation, which includes a completely new lower bowl, new locker rooms and event-level suites for the home of the Knicks, Rangers and St. John’s.
As can be seen on time-lapse video shot of the renovation this summer, the ice had to be covered with timber before much of the heavy machinery could be brought onto the arena floor.
Though some work will continue when the NHL season starts this October, fan disruption will be kept to a minimum, officials said. (The NBA season likely will be delayed by the league lockout.)
New dark, almost Yankees-blue seats have been installed throughout the lower bowl, and over the next two years will be added throughout the arena. But the seating won’t be entirely monochrome, MSG president Hank Ratner said.
Roughly 1,000 lighter blue seats will be installed in the upper bowl to pay homage to the ones way up in the rafters which were once the MSG equivalent of the Yankee Stadium bleachers.
“How many arenas have been around since 1879,” Ratner said. “The blue seats are part of honoring that history.”
The 20 new event-level suites, which are all under contract to “a who’s who of corporate America,” are located directly below the seats and open right onto the lower bowl, Ratner said.
“These are nicer and bigger than most Manhattan apartments,” he said.
The once claustrophobic concourses will now be twice as wide, and feature windows with views of the Farley Post Office.
Much of the work will be completed over the next two summers, including the sky bridges that will each hold 500 seats.
Seeing the basketball Mecca ripped up by the crews was jarring for Anthony, who said “It’s just crazy to see it like that.”
“I kept trying to envision everything, like there’s the locker room, the tunnels to the court. It’s going to be amazing – but most importantly it will still be the Garden.
“The hardhats are bringing in new amenities and concessions, creating the perfect setting for a Knicks championship,” he said.
“That’s why I came here.”
jeremy.olshan@nypost.com