(KTLA) – The Las Vegas skyline is changing once again, and if you’ve been to the city lately, you might have noticed that they’re building a giant orb-like structure.
What is it?
“It certainly has the potential to be one of the most photographed buildings on the planet,” said Lucas Watson, president of MSG Entertainment.
It’s called the MSG Sphere, and it’s slated to be a new high-tech entertainment venue.
“We hope we’ll redefine what it means to do live entertainment,” said Watson.
The structure is located behind the Venetian on the strip, and it’s being built by the same folks that own Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Recently, they hit a new milestone: the primary steel structural work is now complete.
It’s massive – over 500 feet wide and 300 feet tall, making it the world’s tallest spherical structure.
The exterior is going to be wrapped in one giant screen that you can see from space. They’ll even have a neat camera trick that will make it seem like you can “see through” the structure to the other side.
Inside, you’re surrounded by 775 tons of steel. It will hold a giant 16k LED screen that starts from behind your seat and goes from side to side. The idea is that you’re completely immersed in the media playing on it.
The canvas is so unique that MSG built a new studio in Burbank to create new forms of content for the screen.
“It’s meant to be an entirely new toolbox and palette for the world’s best creators,” said Watson.
There will be haptic seats plus the ability to manipulate wind, temperature, and smell. Imagine Disney’s Soarin’ to the extreme and with 20 years of newer technology.
There will also be 164,000 speakers with beamform technology, which directs sound to individual seats. MSG tells me each seat that has the tech will sound like your own personal studio.
The venue can hold up to 20,000 people and plans to host music, entertainment, and live experiences. Apparently, the stage area isn’t large enough for sports like basketball or football.
“We certainly think that this technology is a whole generation ahead of other venues and experiences that you can see today,” said Watson.
MSG Sphere is scheduled to open in the second half of 2023. The price tag is reportedly near $2 billion dollars. Something tells me the beers inside won’t be cheap.
