The world’s second Sphere is on its way

The world’s second Sphere is headed to Abu Dhabi, after the opening of the first giant dome entertainment complex in Las Vegas in September 2023 with a residency by rock band U2.

Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism and Sphere Entertainment Co. announced the plan late Tuesday to bring a Sphere to the Middle East.

Under the deal, Abu Dhabi will pay a franchise fee to Sphere Entertainment to build the second location using its designs. Abu Dhabi’s government will pay to build the structure, as well as annual fees to Sphere Entertainment “for creative and artistic content.”

The announcement offered no financing information, nor did it say where the Sphere would be built in the Emirati capital. Dates for the venue’s construction and opening have yet to be announced.

Sphere is the multi-billion dollar brainchild of James Dolan, the executive chair of Madison Square Garden and the owner of the New York Knicks and Rangers.

The massive $2.3 billion Las Vegas Sphere opened in 2023 as the gambling capital’s most expensive entertainment venue. A high-resolution LED screen wraps halfway around the 17,500-seat audience. It has hosted concerts, film screenings and sporting events inside the world’s largest spherical structure standing at 111 meters tall and 157 meters wide.

However, efforts to build a second Sphere abroad have been choppy. 

London Mayor Sadiq Khan rejected a plan to build one in the city’s east over multiple concerns last year, including light pollution.

Indeed, the proposed venue had raised concerns from some of those living in the surrounding area. The London Assembly Environment Committee warned of the unacceptable light levels that would be created by the venue, as The Sphere is set to have an estimated 1 million LED light bulbs on its exterior.

Abu Dhabi has been trying to differentiate itself as a travel destination from neighboring Dubai in the UAE, an energy-rich federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula.

Stock in Sphere closed more than 6% higher Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange to $48.91 a share. That’s a major boost after Benchmark last month downgraded Sphere Entertainment to “sell” over “concerns over the Sphere’s “scalability, high production costs and a potentially underwhelming profitability outlook.”

Last year, we reported that the Sphere had made a huge loss. The MSG Sphere reported losing $98.4 million (approx. €92,2 million) for the financial quarter ending on 30 Sept 2023, a day after the venue first opened in Las Vegas Strip. The loss was announced around a week after Gautam Ranj resigned as Sphere Entertainment’s chief financial officer, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.