#1: It’s the Largest Spherical Building In the World

With a name like Sphere, only one thing comes to mind - a really, really big sphere. Luckily, the building delivers on that promise. Holding 18,600 seats and 875,000 square feet of space, this is currently the largest spherical building in the world. It took the mantle from Stockholm’s Avicii Arena, which held the record since 1989. Naturally, constructing such a large building requires some serious effort. And that’s where the fourth-largest crane in the world came into play. Transported from Belgium, the Demag crane stands 580 feet tall and took eighteen days to build.

#2: It Debuted With U2

A big building needed to make a big splash and prove that it was the entertainment venue of the world. Enter the legendary U2, who inaugurated the Vegas landmark with their concert residency “Achtung Baby Live at Sphere”. As the name suggests, the concert sees the band performing the entirety of “Achtung Baby” alongside their big hits like “With or Without You” and “Beautiful Day”. The residency lasts from September to December of 2023 and consists of 25 concerts. The show received wide critical acclaim, with journalists highlighting the performance of U2 and their dazzling integration of the venue’s state-of-the-art technology.

#3: It’s Connected to the Venetian Expo

The Sphere was originally a joint undertaking between the Madison Square Garden Company and Las Vegas Sands Corporation. The latter provided the physical space for the building, carving out eighteen acres of land. Sands owned the Venetian until 2022, and by extension, the Venetian Expo convention center. Sands placed the Sphere just east of the Venetian Expo and connected the two with a 1,000 foot long pedestrian bridge. By extension, one could argue that the Sphere is now part of the Venetian resort complex. It’s certainly within walking distance!

#4: It Features a State of the Art Audio System

It’s not just the video nerds who will have a field day with Sphere - the audio enthusiasts have something to admire as well. The LED panels cover 1,600 X1 speakers, and audio can also be broadcast through the floor. All told, the venue boasts 167,000 speaker drivers and utilizes fancy-sounding technologies like “beamforming” and “wave field synthesis.” If you don’t know what that means, that’s OK - basically it just means that Sphere sounds really, really, really good. The venue’s sound received unanimous praise in the U2 concert reviews, with Neil McCormick of the Telegraph calling it “the best sound you have ever heard.”

#5: Its Screens Have the Highest Resolution In the World

Sphere is a dream come true for video nerds, and many will undoubtedly make the trip to Vegas to see it first hand. Visitors are wowed without even entering the venue, as the exterior consists of a massive LED display that outshines even the brightest lights of Vegas. Inside hosts the largest LED screen in the world, a wraparound display measuring 160,000 square feet. And wouldn’t you know it, this giant wraparound screen carries the highest resolution in the world, displaying a startlingly clear and beautiful 16K image. If this is the future of movie theaters, then we are absolutely here for it. It won’t be, but hey, one can certainly dream.