Let’s get a grip on the eye-popping size of the MSG Sphere and its size, which will eclipse the Las Vegas Skyline in its projected opening in 2023. It will be the largest free-standing sphere at 336 ft tall with 7000 seats for an entertainment colossal experience that will rival your local planetarium.
The MSG Sphere at The Venetian could usher in a new canvas for filmmakers and all sorts of immersive entertainment when it opens next year. During a session on the opening day of NAB, a team from MSG Sphere Studios — the production arm of the venture — confirmed that it is talking to everyone from Hollywood directors to musicians while revealing new details about the creative content plans.
When completed, the massive sphere is expected to be the largest spherical structure in the world (336 feet tall and 516 feet wide) and serve as a radical new entertainment venue that can accommodate up to 20,000 spectators. (Construction costs have been estimated at $1.826 billion, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal).
It’s expected to house a record 160,000-square-foot wraparound LED display on the interior, while the exterior will be coated with a record 580,000-square-foot exterior LED display “that can be seen from space,” reported Andrew Shulkind, head of capture for MSG Sphere Studios, a Burbank facility that will house the core production and postproduction-work content designed for the Sphere. The LED display can accommodate 16K-by-16K picture resolution. Through a partnership with Berlin-based audio company Holoplot, the Sphere will also house a custom spatial audio system, and additional plans include 4D capabilities from wind to scents, as well as connectivity for all guests.
Looking ahead, plans are in place to build a second such Sphere in London and later, in additional cities. “We want to expand this, globally,” Shulkind said as the panel, part of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers-hosted Future of Cinema sessions, concluded.
With this award, MSG Entertainment is planning to conduct three missions over the next several years, which would include sending camera equipment to and from the ISS and utilizing astronauts to conduct onboard testing. MSG Entertainment’s goal is to use the microgravity conditions on the ISS and the harsh environment of space to develop a custom MSG Sphere camera system capable of capturing the Earth at a level of detail never before possible, and that can potentially be used deeper in space.
Las Vegas is also hosting a Formula 1 race in 2023. The track will go around the newly built MSG Sphere and its digital outer display will have some exciting graphics and possibly a live feed of the race on the sphere itself. Here’s the proposed F1 circuit for Las Vegas in November 2023.