Singers who perform on Las Vegas’ biggest stages know that, in order to enjoy a long career, their sound and style must constantly evolve.
Sin City itself has also undergone transformations in order to survive — and often, thrive — through the years, rolling out an array of ever-bigger, better, and one-of-a-kind experiences that integrate cutting-edge technologies and draw visitors from around the globe.
The greatest spectacle yet to hit (just east of the) Las Vegas Strip is the Sphere. Located next to The Venetian Resort (and accessible by a pedestrian bridge), this $2.3 billion immersive entertainment venue is covered with 1.2 million exterior LED light sources displaying dazzling, animated images so bright that they can actually be seen from outer space.
Harold Litwiler, CC-BY-SA-2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
While ticket prices for performances inside the orb are pretty steep, ranging from $125 to several thousand dollars each, you can tour the venue daily and learn all about its 22nd-century technology for just $69.
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What is the Sphere in Las Vegas?
The largest spherical building in the world, the Sphere stands at 366 feet high and stretches 516 feet wide.
Think of its steel-domed roof like a really, really expensive digital billboard. Covering the exterior is a large, spherical display known as the Exosphere. It’s made up of 1.2 million hockey puck-sized LED light sources, each of which contains 24 diodes, or switches, that can be programmed to illuminate a nearly unfathomable array of colors—256 million to be exact.
halbergman; Getty Images
With 18,600 seats, the Sphere hosts film, music, and entertainment performances, award shows, and sporting events like boxing matches and mixed martial arts. The futuristic venue first opened to the public on September 28, 2023, and its $2.3 billion price tag makes it the most expensive venue ever constructed in Sin City.
What is inside the Las Vegas Sphere?
The Sphere’s very shape is a crucial component in providing audience members with 360-degree immersive entertainment, effectively wrapping them in sound and visuals.
Its stage fronts another LED screen, this one boasting 16K resolution — that’s currently considered the best in the world — and is made up of 64,000 curved LED panels that basically allow sound from speakers to pass through with perfect clarity. (Both the exterior and interior displays are powered by Nvidia (NVDA) technology.)
Complex calculations of spherical trigonometry let the images displayed appear without distortion from any seat in the venue.
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Sound-wise, the Sphere’s spatial audio system is made up of 167,000 speakers that use a process called “beamforming” to digitally project audio waves at specific spots in the audience. Some concertgoers say this produces a sound quality so perfect that they can even “feel” the music.
But that’s not all of its immersive effects: The Sphere also has 4D features that enable wind, vibration, and even scents to permeate throughout the arena. The experience is so intense that some concert-goers have complained that it can induce vertigo and anxiety.
The Sphere consists of nine levels, including a holographic art museum and a VIP lounge in its basement. The main performance venue has four levels of seats and plenty of food and beverage options.
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:U2_performing_at_Sphere_in_Las_Vegas_on_Oct_11_2023_%283%29.jpg
Who was the first to perform at the Las Vegas Sphere?
The first band to perform inside the Sphere was U2. The “U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere” residency began on September 29, 2023. Originally scheduled to perform just 25 shows, the experience proved so popular that the band had to extend its run twice, resulting in 40 total shows once all was said and done.
“U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere” was hailed for its “astonishing” sound and visuals, such as flying birds, insects, and reptiles, that “seemed to melt away” in a kaleidoscope of color. Billboard proclaimed the residency would “forever change live entertainment” as we know it.
In all, the band generated $256 million in revenue, taking home $10 million upfront and $4 million each night they performed.
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A complete list of the Sphere's residencies so far
| Artist | Event | Dates | Shows |
|---|---|---|---|
U2 |
U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere |
9/29/23 – 3/2/24 |
40 |
Phish |
Phish Live at Sphere |
4/18/24 – 4/21/24 |
4 |
Dead & Company |
Dead Forever: Live at Sphere |
5/16/24 – 8/10/24 |
30 |
The Eagles |
Eagles: Live in Concert at Sphere |
9/20/24 – 3/15/25 |
28 |
Anyma |
Afterlife presents Anyma: The End of Genesys |
12/27/24 –1/11/25 |
8 |
How much did the Las Vegas Sphere cost to build?
The COVID-19 pandemic put a literal wrench in the Sphere’s construction plans.
Originally a partnership between Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) and Las Vegas Sands Corporation, ground was broken on the 18-acre site on September 27, 2018.
SounderBruce, CC-BY-SA-4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
By March 2020, the basement and four of its eight floors had been completed. The project was so big that one of the largest cranes in the world, a Demag CC-8800, was shipped over in pieces from Belgium and then reassembled to assist. However, right as construction reached the sphere’s widest point, the 516-foot diameter center, the project was suspended from lockdown orders stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Construction would later resume again that August, only to be thwarted by snarled supply chains, which delayed the project’s completion by two years and nearly doubled its cost: Initial estimates claimed that it would “only” cost $1.2 billion, but its finished price tag was $2.3 billion.
When the Las Vegas Sands Corporation sold its share in the Venetian Resort to Apollo Global Management in 2022 for $6.25 billion, Apollo also acquired its stake in the Sphere.
The Sphere’s screen was first illuminated on July 4, 2023, and the image quickly went viral.
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Why is the Sphere important to Las Vegas?
Rising like a mirage in the desert, the discovery of silver in Nevada helped put the city of Las Vegas on the map. In fact, the city’s motto quickly became “go big or go home.” By the 1940s, miles of neon-lit hotel signs enticed visitors from all over the world to come and gamble in its casinos.
Music could always be heard above the din of roulette wheels and card dealers, however. The Rat Pack had one of the first — and longest — Las Vegas residencies, performing two shows a night at the Sands Hotel and Casino throughout the 1950s and 60s.
By the 1970s, over six million people a year were visiting Sin City, and Wayne Newton was a popular headliner at the Flamingo Hotel. Elvis Presley staged a momentous career comeback at the International Hotel, although he tragically suffered a heart attack in 1977. Many believed it stemmed from the drugs he had become addicted to in order to maintain his vigorous performance schedule.
In the 1990s, developer Steve Wynn started building a very different kind of casino, one that was fun not just for adults but for visitors of all ages.
Tigers actually lived on display at The Mirage Hotel as part of Siegfried & Roy’s live animal show which ran from 1990 to 2003. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks and housing-fueled recessions of the 2000s, Canadian superstar Celine Dion was single-handedly credited with saving Sin City. Her two record-breaking residencies between 2003 and 2019, “A New Day” and “Céline,” grossed an astounding $681.2 million in combined ticket sales.
But not even Las Vegas was immune from the world health crisis that erupted in 2020, fueled by the emergence of a dangerous new coronavirus that sent the entire world into lockdown.
According to Statista, before the pandemic, in 2019, 60% of all of Vegas’ visitors went to the Bright Light City to see a show.
But out of the 40.5 million people who visited Las Vegas in 2023, only a quarter (26%) said they were there for a live performance. It wasn’t a lack of sheer talent that kept the crowds away — as there were more big-name artists hosting residencies around the city than ever before, including Lady Gaga, Adele, and Carrie Underwood.
Instead, the pandemic and social distancing had put a damper on the entire entertainment industry. When Governor Steve Sisolak shut the casinos down for 78 days in 2020, the city lost $6.2 billion and experienced 33% unemployment, among the highest in the nation.
After the pandemic, inflation and high interest rates, which affected the spending power of millions of Americans, were to blame for Vegas’ sluggish rebound. According to a study by the UNLV Center for Business and Economic Research, Federal Reserve policies particularly affected the local economy.
These are all reasons why the emergence of the Sphere could not have come at a better time for the city, and all eyes (and many hopes for Vegas’ future) are firmly focused on this groundbreaking experience. 40 million people visited Vegas in 2023, which doesn’t quite match its record of 42 million visitors in 2019, but the Sphere could change that.
In fact, $1 million worth of Sphere tickets are being sold each day, and it has already boasted further sellout performances from its post-U2 acts, including Anyma, Phish, Dead & Company, and The Eagles.
Y2kcrazyjoker4, CC-BY-4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Sphere's financials
The Sphere generated $497 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, which included $268 million from the Sphere Experience, concerts, the NHL Draft, Super Bowl activities, and a Formula One Grand Prix race.
Advertising on the Exosphere also drove revenue, although near-term debt pressures have caused its owners to refinance their obligations.
$849.8 million came down in October 2024, alone, causing the company to report an operating loss of $71.4 million. But the Sphere is quickly building momentum, and CEO James Dolan is confident in its future. He recently announced that a second Sphere venue will be built in Abu Dhabi.
Who is playing at the Las Vegas Sphere in 2025?
The Eagles are performing at the Sphere through March 15, 2025 — they recently added 4 more shows to its lineup.
Anyma, a genre-bending electronic music producer, also has an eight-show stint at the Sphere from late December 2024 into early January 2025.
Check out the Sphere’s webpage to see future acts as they’re announced.
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