The Sphere… all lit up for Fourth of July, 2023.
Image courtesy of: Sphere Entertainment Co. (as featured in Dezeen)
Scheduled to open this fall, the Madison Square Garden Sphere is already Las Vegas’ “talk of the town.” The futuristic entertainment venue is the world’s largest spherical structure. In addition, the bowl-shaped theater will encase the world’s highest-resolution wraparound LED screen… called Exosphere.
Residing inside The Venetian Las Vegas Resort, the immersive feature will (courtesy of an article by Lori Dorn in Laughing Squid) “spherical images at an incredible 19,000×13,500 pixels for a seated audience of 18,600 people.” The entire project cost over $2.3 billion and officially opens on September 29, 2023.
The Sphere is officially the world’s most expensive arena. Coming in at a distant second is Allegiant Stadium (home of the Las Vegas Raiders) also in Las Vegas; it cost $400 million to construct.
Image courtesy of: MSG Entertainment (as featured in Arena Digest)
Initially, Madison Square Garden Company announced plans for the ambitious project in early 2018 with a projected opening date of 2021. However, the global pandemic pushed the opening back two years.
In total, the Sphere spans 875,000-square-feet and it is definitely the largest and the most sophisticated arena in the world. The architecture firm Populous designed the structure; they are familiar with high-voltage, expansive areas having designed Olympic Games stadiums and Fifa World Cup stadiums. In addition to all the necessary attributes, the venue includes 165,000 speakers and high-speed internet throughout. Finally, the Sphere will connect to The Venetian Resort via a pedestrian walkway.
The roving eyeball display…
Image courtesy of: MSG Entertainment (as featured in Yahoo Life!)
The exterior is made up of an entirely steel framework that weighs 1,600,000 pounds and supports the massive 160,000-square-foot LED screen and the 170,000 piece speaker system that is made by Holoplot and incorporates a multi-layer audio program.
As a first step, construction crews completed the widest part of the Exosphere; it measures 516 feet in diameter. Following, the upper sections were completed to allow the Sphere to close in towards the center.
A cross-section rendering of the Sphere showing the sight-lines to the stage’s focal points.
Rendering courtesy of: U2 Interface
In addition to the insane visuals, the sound system is revolutionary. Each seat is privy to an ultra-resolution audio flow that is pumped by Holoplot. Dubbed a “sound system for the new era,” the German company’s system is responsible for configuring a way (courtesy of an article in New York Post by Alex Mitchell) ” to deliver precision audio with consistent quality and level over large distances, nullifying the most challenging acoustics” of similar experiences.
Roman Sick, the CEO of Holoplot told Headliner (regarding the Sphere’s acoustics) “You need to be able to have an intimate and a dynamic experience. I need to be able to explore and move around – If I walk over there, I want to have a different experience to over here. If these things are happening, then I’m pretty immersed. If I’m fixed on a seat with speakers all around and then hear a sound from behind me, I don’t feel very immersed, I feel artificially positioned. We are able to create experiences that are more natural and more independent of speaker locations – we don’t have to position them all around as we can use targeted reflections to create a sound emitting from an object even though there is no speaker.”
From You Tube, Las Vegas’ $2.3 billion Sphere!
No doubt once it opens, whatever is presented at the Sphere will be an enviable event… and for more than just the feature act itself. Locals of Las Vegas and summer visitors to Sin City have been lucky to see a number of graphics presented on the Sphere’s exterior. The first exterior “show” was on the Fourth of July, when the Sphere was lit up in red, white, and blue… with stars and stripes…. for America’s holiday. Since then, there have been a number of stunning animations from planet earth to a roving eyeball.
More Spheres are planned… specifically one for London; however this proposal is on hold after proving to be controversial for a number of reasons. As Sick said, “Sphere will be something the world has never seen before.” This much is true… let’s just hope we get a chance to experience it ourselves!