This exciting new venue is revolutionizing the way people experience their favorite forms of entertainment. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down the most interesting facts about the Las Vegas Sphere.
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00:00 Las Vegas Sphere has officially become a major attraction in Las Vegas.
00:04 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down the most interesting facts about the
00:08 Las Vegas Sphere.
00:10 And it is making a great big promise to change the entertainment world.
00:14 Number 10.
00:15 It's the largest spherical building in the world.
00:18 With a name like Sphere, only one thing comes to mind.
00:21 A really, really big sphere.
00:23 Luckily, the building delivers on that promise.
00:26 Right off the Vegas Strip is the future of entertainment in a way only science fiction
00:31 could predict.
00:32 Holding 18,600 seats and 875 square feet of space, this is currently the largest spherical
00:40 building in the world.
00:41 It took the mantle from Stockholm's Avicii Arena, which held the record since 1989.
00:46 Naturally, constructing such a large building requires some serious effort.
00:51 The Sphere is 366 feet tall and 516 feet wide.
00:57 And that's where the fourth largest crane in the world came into play.
01:00 Transported from Belgium, the DMAG crane stands 580 feet tall and took 18 days to build.
01:07 The crane is nearly 600 feet tall, which is about 30 feet taller than the high roller.
01:12 Number 9.
01:13 Construction was delayed for COVID.
01:15 The Sphere officially opened on September 29, 2023.
01:18 Were you expecting to see the Sphere when you came all the way from New Zealand?
01:22 No, no.
01:23 It was a shock for us.
01:24 It is impressive to locals and visitors alike.
01:27 But that was not the original plan.
01:29 Sphere was supposed to open its doors two years earlier in 2021, but was delayed owing
01:34 to the COVID pandemic and subsequent supply chain issues.
01:37 Despite construction being deemed essential during the pandemic, it was delayed due to
01:41 supply chain issues.
01:42 And it came at the worst possible time as well.
01:45 The aforementioned crane arrived in February 2020, and by March it was in the midst of
01:50 building the widest point of the Sphere.
01:53 MSG Company, the contractor behind the Sphere, announced on March 31 that construction would
01:58 be delayed.
01:59 After being paused, construction eventually resumed.
02:01 In 2021, the heaviest lift was complete.
02:04 The following August, they revealed that the Sphere's opening would be held back by two
02:08 years.
02:10 Number 8.
02:11 It debuted with YouTube.
02:12 A big building needed to make a splash and prove that it was the entertainment venue
02:17 of the world.
02:18 Enter the legendary U2, who inaugurated the Vegas landmark with their concert residency
02:24 Ok Tong Baby live at the Sphere.
02:26 Their creative team actually was against it.
02:30 But they went to see it and they came away saying basically, "We have to do this."
02:34 As the name suggests, the concert sees the band performing the entirety of Ok Tong Baby
02:39 alongside their big hits like With or Without You and Beautiful Day.
02:44 Our challenge is not so much making it sound good, it's like how far do we go into the
02:48 immersive sound without it starting to take away from what we are effectively, which is
02:54 rock and roll band.
02:55 The residency lasts from September to December of 2023 and consists of 25 concerts.
03:01 The show received wide critical acclaim, with journalists highlighting the performance of
03:05 U2 and their dazzling integration of the venue's state-of-the-art technology.
03:10 See the question may be more, will we enjoy going to the same place every night after
03:16 night?
03:17 That's the question.
03:18 Number 7.
03:19 It's connected to the Venetian Expo.
03:21 The Sphere was originally a joint undertaking between the Madison Square Garden Company
03:26 and Las Vegas Sands Corporation.
03:28 But Las Vegas has slowly watched this empty lot next to the Venetian Resort transform,
03:33 watching crews dig and build.
03:34 The latter provided the physical space for the building, carving out 18 acres of land.
03:40 Sands owned the Venetian until 2022 and by extension, the Venetian Expo Convention Center.
03:45 Las Vegas Sands announced it sold the Venetian, Palazzo and Sands Expo and Convention Center.
03:51 Apollo Global Management bought those properties for $6.25 billion.
03:57 Sands placed the Sphere just east of the Venetian Expo and connected the two with a 1,000-foot-long
04:02 pedestrian bridge.
04:04 By extension, one could argue that the Sphere is now part of the Venetian Resort Complex.
04:09 It's certainly within walking distance.
04:11 You can't help but stop and stare.
04:13 And plenty of people agree.
04:15 Number 6.
04:16 The building is run by James L. Dolan.
04:19 If there's one man we have to thank for the Sphere, it's James L. Dolan.
04:23 All of this starting with a simple sketch from Jim Dolan, owner of some of the most
04:26 storied venues on Earth, who decided to re-imagine entertainment.
04:30 Dolan is a highly successful businessman who runs Madison Square Garden Entertainment,
04:35 the general contractor responsible for bringing Sphere to life.
04:38 This is the kind of project where you have to stretch and you take a risk.
04:45 And tonight is when we see how that risk pays off.
04:49 By extension, Dolan also runs various New York sports teams, including the Knicks and
04:54 the Rangers.
04:55 Dolan has since expanded his reach and currently serves as the executive chairman and CEO of
05:00 Sphere Entertainment Company, the co-owner of the venue.
05:04 It's experiential.
05:07 It's unlike any other medium that's been out there before.
05:10 According to Sphere's website, Dolan is "the visionary behind Sphere" and is responsible
05:16 for the building's overall vision and growth strategy.
05:19 Number 5.
05:21 There will be an identical Sphere in London.
05:23 While the Sphere is currently a Las Vegas exclusive, that won't be the case for long.
05:28 There are lots of rumors that you're thinking about putting a Sphere other places, London
05:33 possibility.
05:35 What about New York City?
05:39 We would love to build in other places and that is our plan, is to build other Spheres.
05:44 The Madison Square Garden Company has announced plans to build various Spheres around the
05:48 world and there are current plans to build an identical Sphere in London.
05:53 The venue is still in its planning stages and is expected to be placed in the East London
05:57 area of Stratford.
05:58 The company behind the legendary Madison Square Garden is planning an exciting entertainment
06:03 and music venue in Stratford, London.
06:05 The London Legacy Development Corporation approved planning for the building in March
06:09 2022 and it is now awaiting legal approval and a review by London's Mayor, Sadiq Khan.
06:15 However, the venue has faced some opposition, particularly from locals who argue that the
06:20 land should be used for housing.
06:22 I imagine that everything just rides to the halt and then the local residents sort of
06:27 who rely on this as their transport in and out of the area, well then the services aren't
06:34 very reliable for them at those times.
06:37 It hosts an exclusive Darren Aronofsky movie.
06:40 If U2 isn't your thing, may we suggest a movie from Darren Aronofsky?
06:45 It's sci-fi fantasy meets nature documentary.
06:50 The footage shot on all seven continents is simply stunning.
06:54 If the name doesn't sound familiar, this is the Oscar-nominated director behind movies
06:59 like Black Swan, Mother and The Whale.
07:01 Listen, I don't know what's going to happen in the next few minutes.
07:04 If you don't mind, could you...
07:07 Yeah, yeah, of course.
07:10 Aronofsky made a movie exclusive to the Sphere titled Postcard from Earth, a 50-minute nature
07:15 short about two astronauts.
07:17 The film premiered at the Sphere on October 6th, 2023 and promises to be an immersive
07:22 experience unlike any other, complete with 4D technology and a crystal-clear screen measuring
07:28 nearly 400 feet.
07:30 Once you see the size of this thing, four football fields in size, it's an amazing feeling
07:36 to watch it.
07:37 Move aside, IMAX.
07:38 Sphere is here.
07:40 Number three, its screens have the highest resolution in the world.
07:44 Sphere is a dream come true for video nerds, and many will undoubtedly make the trip to
07:49 Vegas to see it firsthand.
07:50 He says the outside of the Sphere, the exosphere, offers countless possibilities as the largest
07:57 collective LED screen in the world.
08:00 Visitors are wowed without even entering the venue as the exterior consists of a massive
08:04 LED display that outshines even the brightest lights of Vegas.
08:08 The MSG Sphere is the largest spherical structure in the world with the largest LED screen in
08:13 the world, 580,000 square feet of programmable LED lighting that was shining bright for its
08:19 debut display on Independence Day.
08:22 Inside hosts the largest LED screen in the world, a wraparound display measuring 160,000
08:29 square feet.
08:31 And wouldn't you know it, this giant wraparound screen carries the highest resolution in the
08:36 world displaying a startlingly clear and beautiful 16K image.
08:40 It's impossible to describe.
08:43 It's like trying to explain what a peanut butter and jelly sandwich tastes like to somebody
08:47 who's never tasted one.
08:48 If this is the future of movie theaters, then we are absolutely here for it.
08:53 It won't be, but hey, one can certainly dream.
08:56 #2.
08:57 It features a state-of-the-art audio system.
09:00 It's not just the video nerds who will have a field day with Sphere, the audio enthusiasts
09:04 have something to admire as well.
09:07 The LED panels cover 1,600 X1 speakers, and audio can also be broadcast through the floor.
09:14 His team plans to deliver unprecedented sound quality in this one-of-a-kind venue.
09:19 It includes some 1,600 speakers, more than a few installed into the floor, and those
09:23 speakers will deliver audio on a whole new level.
09:27 All told, the venue boasts 167,000 speaker drivers and utilizes fancy-sounding technologies
09:34 like beamforming and wave-field synthesis.
09:37 With our technology, we're able to bring that proximity effect down to even an individual
09:43 member of an audience.
09:44 If you don't know what that means, that's okay.
09:46 Basically, it just means that Sphere sounds really, really, really good.
09:51 The venue's sound received unanimous praise in the U2 concert reviews, with Neil McCormick
09:56 of The Telegraph calling it "the best sound you have ever heard."
10:00 "This sounds like a guitar solo, but it's not.
10:06 Now you're back to sax."
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10:22 1.
10:24 It cost $2.3 billion to build
10:27 As you can probably imagine, constructing the world's largest spherical structure and
10:32 filling it with state-of-the-art video and audio capabilities doesn't come cheap.
10:36 "I want them to feel awe, but mostly I want them to feel enchanted.
10:40 I want them to feel like they're stepping into the future."
10:43 The building was originally supposed to cost just $1.2 billion, but the price massively
10:49 ballooned thanks to rapid inflation and supply chain issues.
10:52 "At what point did you realize the price tag was going to keep ballooning?"
10:58 By the time construction was done, Sphere had cost developers $2.3 billion, over $1
11:04 billion more than they had expected.
11:06 "Look, 2.3 is a pretty accurate number.
11:10 It's more than what we thought it was going to cost us."
11:14 This makes it the most expensive venue in the history of Vegas, beating the Raiders'
11:18 Allegiance Stadium by almost half a billion dollars.
11:22 Have you been to the Sphere yet?
11:24 Let us know how it was in the comments below.
11:26 You can't help but stop and stare, and plenty of people agree, crowds forming on the sides
11:32 of the street all around.
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11:41 Thanks for watching!