Was the Las Vegas Sphere Worth the Hype?

By Marcus M.

If you haven't been living under a rock lately, you've likely heard about one of Las Vegas's newest architectural extravaganzas: the Las Vegas Sphere. The venue, which opened its doors in September 2023, mixes physical and digital media, resulting in a genuinely innovative entertainment experience.

The building is covered by a structure called "The Exosphere," comprising 580,000 sq. ft of high-resolution LED screens. According to the venue's vice-president, Guy Barnett, the Exosphere is a "living structure." You'll find 160,000 sq. ft of the same LED screens and more than 164,000 speakers inside. It's not surprising there's such hype surrounding the Sphere. Is it worth it, though? Keep reading to find out.

Virtual Reality and Robots

The Sphere also attracts attention from metaverse enthusiasts. The metaverse is expected to reach over 600 million users by 2026, and many companies are already gearing up for the new internet.

The venue has "avatar scanners" where visitors can create 3D avatars for a virtual reality experience. Visitors can also get a video of their avatar in the metaverse sent via email. All they have to do is brave the long lines for the scanners.

The same level of VR experience is already offered by some virtual casinos in the metaverse, where players can “walk around” and play with their avatars. Indeed, a deeply immersive metaverse casino is just one source link away from tech-savvy players.

If you think it's futuristic enough, wait to be greeted by talking robots right at the entrance. The human-like machines greet visitors by saying "welcome carbon-based life forms." The robots named Auras are advertised as "the most advanced robots" around. Just like U2 clips, the Auras are also quite popular on social media platforms.

Poles Apart

Despite its uniqueness, not everybody is excited about the Sphere. While some visitors see it as a futuristic venue for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, others find it a dystopian death trap designed to trigger panic attacks. Adjectives like "overpriced" and "overrated" aren't rare in reviews on platforms like Trip Advisor. It's all a matter of taste, of course.

The future comes at a price, and it's not cheap. Concert tickets can cost up to USD 1,495. It seems the once-in-a-lifetime experience just isn't for everybody, even if it has over 17,000 seats available. The prohibitive prices are most likely to drive new artists away, being accessible only to a few mainstream names.

Attention-Seeking

Don't be surprised if you stumble upon a link to the Sphere's page. The company is flooding social platforms with videos from its debut concert, with U2 and all sorts of catchy animations on the Exosphere. It already has 700,000 followers on Instagram and over 1 million followers on TikTok.

Companies have to pay between USD 450,000 and USD 650,000 for just one week of exposure. After all, the venue cost USD 2.3 billion to build, and it needs to pay for itself. It explains why advertisement costs are as impressive as the building itself, even though advertisements alone will take about 14 years to match the building costs.

On the other hand, where will companies find another Sphere to advertise? It's the tallest spherical structure in the world, at 111m, and it's placed on the hottest spot in the city: the Las Vegas Strip.

More Than a Concert Venue

U2 were the first band to get a gig in the Sphere, but it was not just the one show. The Irish band signed a residency, including 25 concerts between October and December last year. The concerts attracted star-studded audiences, with names like Jon Bon Jovi and Paul McCartney. The next gig is still open to speculation, but rumours point to Harry Styles as the next resident.

However, the venue does more than host rock stars. Sports fans can have a surreal experience in one of the 19,000 haptic seats available, while watching their favourite games. Last year, fans could watch the NBA Midseason Tournament and Formula One on the Vegas Strip like never before. It's also possible to watch a movie for about USD 100 per ticket. If this is still too expensive for you, Las Vegas is home to many great comedy clubs.

Moreover, the building is an advertisement machine. According to figures from 2022, an advertisement on Times Square is likely to reach 500,000 viewers daily. The Sphere puts those numbers to shame with a promise of 4.2 million viewers per day. Better still, most of the content displayed on the Exosphere quickly becomes viral on social media, unlike old-school Times Square ads.