Sphere at The Venetian Resort is a sphere-shaped music and entertainment arena being built in
Paradise
In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in parad ...
,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
, near the
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city ...
and east of the
Venetian resort. The 17,500-seat auditorium was initially scheduled to open in 2021,
but construction was suspended in April 2020 due to a disruption in the project's supply chain, caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. Construction resumed later that year, and the opening is scheduled for September 2023.
[
]
History
Background
The MSG Sphere arena was announced in February 2018, and is being built in partnership between the Madison Square Garden Company
Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. (also known as MSG Sports) is an American sports holding company based in New York City.
MSG Sports manages professional sports teams. These include the National Basketball Association's New York Knicks and ...
(MSG) and Las Vegas Sands Corporation
Las Vegas Sands Corporation is an American casino and resort company with corporate headquarters in Paradise, Nevada, United States. Its corporate mission is to create "Integrated Resorts" which feature a combination of gambling, accommodatio ...
. The MSG Sphere is located east of Las Vegas Sands' Venetian resort and just off the Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city ...
.[ The sphere-shaped venue will have a capacity of 17,500 and feature the world's largest LED screen. Las Vegas Sands contributed the site for the project.][ The sphere was designed by Populous.][ The property will include 304 parking spaces, while additional spaces will be available at the parking garages for the nearby Venetian, ]Palazzo
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
, and Venetian Expo
The Venetian Convention and Expo Center (formerly the Sands Expo) is a convention center located in Paradise, Nevada, near the Las Vegas Strip. The Venetian Expo is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Apollo Global Management, and is frequen ...
.
Construction
A groundbreaking
Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are ...
ceremony was held on September 27, 2018, and was attended by approximately 300 people, including Las Vegas Sands' Sheldon Adelson
Sheldon Gary Adelson (; August 4, 1933 – January 11, 2021) was an American businessman, investor, political donor and philanthropist. He was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which owns ...
and Nevada governor Brian Sandoval
Brian Edward Sandoval (; born August 5, 1963) is an American politician, academic administrator, and former federal judge who served as the 29th Governor of Nevada from 2011 to 2019.
A graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, Sandoval began ...
.[ In November 2018, it was reported that the MSG Sphere would be built along with new bars, private suites, a museum and retail space.][MSG Sphere project calls for bars, museum, private suites, new Monorail stop]
/ref> AECOM
AECOM (, ; formerly AECOM Technology Corporation) is an American multinational infrastructure consulting firm.
AECOM has approximately 51,000 employees, and is number 157 on the 2019 Fortune 500 list.
The company's official name from 1990 t ...
began working on the site in February 2019, through a preliminary agreement. AECOM had worked on several other stadiums, including the T-Mobile Arena
T-Mobile Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Paradise, Nevada. Opened on April 6, 2016, it is the home arena of the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). A joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Anschutz En ...
in Las Vegas. Excavation was underway in March 2019. Approximately of dirt and caliche
Caliche () is a sedimentary rock, a hardened natural cement of calcium carbonate that binds other materials—such as gravel, sand, clay, and silt. It occurs worldwide, in aridisol and mollisol soil orders—generally in arid or semiarid regions ...
were excavated to prepare the site for construction.[ AECOM was named as the general contractor in June 2019.][ The project had 400 construction workers. This number was expected to eventually reach a peak of 1,500.] Construction of the basement was underway in July 2019. MSG estimated that the project would cost $1.2 billion, while AECOM projected the costs at $1.7 billion. Negotiations were underway to lower the costs.
By October 2019, construction crews had completed the basement as well as the first ground level of the sphere. The basement area will be used as public space for events.[ Excavation went as deep as 21 feet for construction of the basement.][ In December 2019, the sphere reached 65 feet in height with the completion of a fourth level. MSG Sphere will have a total of eight levels upon completion, and will be the largest spherical building in the world at .]
In February 2020, MSG said that the cost of the project had been increased to $1.66 billion as a result of design changes consisting of guest enhancements. That month, the world's fourth-largest crane, a DEMAG CC-8800 crawler crane, was set up on the site's northeast side for the purpose of lifting heavy construction materials. The crane is capable of standing up to 580 feet. In a disassembled state, the crane was transported across the Atlantic Ocean from Zeebrugge
Zeebrugge (, from: ''Brugge aan zee'' meaning "Bruges at Sea", french: Zeebruges) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zee ...
, Belgium to Port Hueneme, California
Port Hueneme ( ; Chumash: ''Wene Me'') is a small beach city in Ventura County, California, surrounded by the city of Oxnard and the Santa Barbara Channel. Both the Port of Hueneme and Naval Base Ventura County lie within the city limits.
P ...
. The crane then required 120 tractor-trailers to transport it to Las Vegas. A separate crane was required to assemble the main crane, a process which took 18 days. In March 2020, construction reached the widest point of the sphere, the 516-foot diameter, located at the sixth level and 108 feet above ground.
MSG Sphere is expected to create 4,400 jobs upon opening.[ The project had been scheduled to open in 2021.][ On March 31, 2020, MSG announced that construction would be suspended due to the ]COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. The project experienced a disruption in its supply chain, a result of the pandemic, and this hindered construction progress. All construction work on the project was expected to come to a stop over the next two weeks following the announcement. In August 2020, MSG Entertainment announced that construction had resumed on the project, with the opening rescheduled for 2023. Over the subsequent 15 months, construction would be focused on concrete, followed by steel erection and then the 13,000-ton steel-domed roof, the most complex part of the project. In October 2020, crews completed the heaviest lift up to that point, with the installation of two 240-ton steel girders.
MSG took over as general contractor in December 2020, although AECOM continued to provide support. A 170-ton steel compression ring was added in February 2021, marking the heaviest lift of the entire project. Due to its size, the ring had to be assembled at the construction site. Work crews spent three weeks welding and bolting the prefabricated steel pieces together, and the crane was then used to lift the ring into place.
Roof, exosphere, and interior
The dome's roof required 3,000 tons of steel. The roof started to take shape in March 2021, as crews began the installation of 32 truss
A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure.
In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...
es, each one weighing 100 tons. Truss installation reached the midway point in May 2021, and the crane had to be moved to the southern side of the property to install the remainder. Because of its size, the crane's relocation took two days. It was announced a few days later that the projected cost of the MSG Sphere had increased to $1.826 billion. The cost had already been expected to increase as construction proceeded.
The dome was topped off on June 18, 2021,[ and work was already underway on an external exosphere which would be built around the dome.][ The exosphere will be made of LED light panels which will be visible from several miles away. It will be 30 percent taller than the dome.][ Work on the sphere's interior began in August 2021, with the project now estimated to cost $1.865 billion.
Upon completion of the roof's steel frame, 6,000 cubic yards of concrete were then pumped onto the roof. This formed a layer measuring 10 inches in thickness, and weighing approximately 10,000 tons.][ The roof was finished in October 2021.] Crews then turned their focus to a 730-ton steel interior frame which will support the LED screens and audio system.[ Work on the interior frame was expected to continue into 2022.][
A second topping out, for the exosphere,] took place on May 24, 2022. This was followed by installation of the interior and exterior LED screens.[ Later in the year, construction costs increased again, reaching $2.175 billion. The latest increase was due to global supply chain issues and the 2021–2022 inflation surge.
]
Features
Upon its completion, the MSG Sphere will be high and wide at its broadest point.[ It will include seating for 17,500 people,][ and all seats will have high speed internet access.][The MSG Sphere: The Future of Live Concert Experiences]
/ref> The venue can accommodate 20,000 people in standing capacity.[ The sphere has nine levels, including the basement, where a VIP club will be located. A total of 23 suites will be included, across the third and fifth floors.][
The MSG Sphere will be equipped with 19,000 by 13,500 resolution LED screens which will spread across the interior of the venue.][ The wraparound screen will measure . It will be the largest and highest-resolution LED screen in the world.] The exterior of the venue will feature of programmable lighting, which can be modified based on holidays, for example to depict the sphere as a Halloween pumpkin or a Christmas snow globe. The sphere will feature 164,000 speakers, and the sound system will deliver sound through the floorboards.[ 4D features, including scent and wind, will also be used.][
The arena will primarily host awards shows and concerts, in addition to other entertainment events. Although it was not designed to host sporting events, there is the possibility of hosting matches for boxing and ]mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
,[ as well as esports tournaments.][
A 1,000-foot pedestrian bridge will connect the sphere to the ]Venetian Expo
The Venetian Convention and Expo Center (formerly the Sands Expo) is a convention center located in Paradise, Nevada, near the Las Vegas Strip. The Venetian Expo is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Apollo Global Management, and is frequen ...
,[ and there are plans to build a new ]Las Vegas Monorail
The Las Vegas Monorail is a automated monorail mass transit system located adjacent to the Las Vegas Strip, in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It connects several large casinos in the unincorporated communities of Paradise and Winch ...
station to serve the MSG Sphere and The Venetian.[ However, these plans were put on hold in April 2020, due to the financial impact of the pandemic.
]
Other locations
An identical MSG Sphere is planned to be built in Stratford, East London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, and MSG intends to build others around the world.[
]
MSG Sphere Studios
MSG Sphere Studios opened in Burbank, California in May 2022.[ The facility handles production and post-production work for the Las Vegas sphere and future spheres. MSG Sphere Studios sought to collaborate with filmmakers and musicians to create some of the content for the Las Vegas sphere.] Ted King, who previously worked on Star Trek: The Experience, is among those who will create visual content for the MSG Sphere. The studio will also produce content in association with the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix
The Las Vegas Grand Prix is a planned Formula One Grand Prix due to form part of the 2023 Formula One World Championship, with the event taking place in Paradise, Nevada, on a temporary street circuit including the Las Vegas Strip.
History ...
, which will travel past the MSG Sphere.[
The spherical studio facility, nearly 100 feet tall, is a miniature version of the Las Vegas sphere.]
See also
* Avicii Arena
* Cinematic virtual reality
*T-Mobile Arena
T-Mobile Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Paradise, Nevada. Opened on April 6, 2016, it is the home arena of the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). A joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Anschutz En ...
, the home of the NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
's Vegas Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. Founded in 2017 as an expa ...
*All Net Resort and Arena
All Net Resort & Arena is a planned entertainment complex in Las Vegas. A project of businessman and former basketball player Jackie Robinson, the complex will encompass a resort hotel, retail and restaurant space, and a multi-purpose arena with a ...
, a Las Vegas arena under construction and planned to open in 2025
References
External links
Official website
{{Madison Square Garden Company
Buildings and structures in Paradise, Nevada
Indoor arenas in Las Vegas
Music venues in the Las Vegas Valley
Sports venues in Las Vegas
Boxing venues in Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
Indoor arenas under construction in the United States