SPHERE IS HERE: A HANDY GUIDE TO THE VEGAS BOWL

Sphere specs:

• Capacity: 18,600; 20,000 with standing room. Adjusts to GA floor.
• Seating: High-speed Internet access.
• Stage: Portable, adjustable to any size and can be removed for films. Seating covers approximately two-thirds of interior, with stage occupying remainder of space.
• Venue: Nine levels including basement, where VIP club is located. 23 suites across third and fifth floors.
• Production: Interior equipped with 16K-resolution wraparound LED screen measuring 160,000 sq. ft., the biggest and best-resolution LED screen in the world.
• Sound: Spatial audio based on Holoplot's X1 speaker module, which uses beamforming and wave-field synthesis technologies and is equipped with 96 drivers each; system comprised of 1,600 X1 speakers installed behind LED panels with 300 mobile modules for a total of 167,000 speaker drivers; delivers sound through floorboards.
• Specials: 4D features scent and wind.
• Exterior: 580,000 sq. ft. of programmable lighting; interior and exterior screens manufactured by SACO Technologies, a Canadian company specializing in LED video displays and lighting.
• Size: 366 feet high and 516 wide at broadest point.
• Plans: Four to six residencies per year; will primarily host concerts, awards shows and other entertainment events. Though not designed to fit a traditional arena layout for sports like basketball and hockey, venue can host ring-sports events like boxing and MMA.
• Booked: U2, 9/29-12/16; Darren Aronofsky’s “Postcard From Earth,” 10/6/23.

Emphasizing the grandeur of the venue, USA Today says, “To call Sphere a spectacle doesn’t do justice to the structure,” while The Guardian notes, “ …ultimately, it’s all about spectacle, which it provides in jaw-dropping spades.” Variety echoes these sentiments, writing, “Every one of the hundreds of thousands of LEDs in the place could short out and it would still be a visually impressive show just because of the utterly austere but beautifully sleek stage design.”

Meanwhile, Rolling Stone points out that the venue “managed to live up to years of hype with its dazzling 16K resolution screen, which transported 18,600 fans from the stars in the night sky to a surreal collage of Vegas images, the arid deserts of Nevada and the information overload of Zoo TV.”

All in all, Sphere has received high praise for its innovation and visual impact. Critics agree that it's likely to dazzle even the most jaded of concertgoers.