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Here’s the Sphere, by the numbers

Updated August 3, 2023 - 6:52 pm

With the Sphere being the largest spherical structure in the world, many might be thinking about the venue’s stats and just how big the venue and its screens are.

Here is the Sphere, by the numbers:

How big is the Sphere?

The Sphere is 366 feet tall and 516 feet wide.

The Sphere also has a smaller version of itself in Burbank, California, called Big Dome, which is 28,000 square feet and 100 feet tall.

Big Dome is used to produce film content that will eventually be shown in and on the Sphere in Las Vegas.

580,000-square-foot exterior

The Sphere’s exterior, called the Exosphere, is covered in fully programmable LED, and can display 256 million colors to depict eyeballs, basketballs and more.

The interior Sphere screen is 160,000 square feet with a 16,000-by-16,000 resolution, the highest resolution LED screen on earth, according to Sphere Entertainment.

Sphere has not announced who the venue will be partnering with for its next displays after working with the NBA to create displays for the Summer League championship, but David Hopkinson, Sphere’s president, told the Review-Journal this month that the Exosphere won’t be fully dominated by advertising, and will display art half the time.

“We’ve got this incredible canvas that we’re very curious to see what the artists and creatives can do with,” Hopkinson told the Review-Journal.

What’s the Sphere’s seating capacity?

Sphere has a seated capacity of 17,600, but has a standing room capacity of 20,000 people.

Of the 17,600 seats, 10,000 are immersive with a special sound system that allows guests to “feel” sound vibrate.

To compare the capacity of the venue to other entertainment venues in Las Vegas, Allegiant Stadium has the capacity for up to 71,835 for NFL games, T-Mobile Arena can seat 20,000, Michelob ULTRA Arena can fit 12,000 and the Theater at Virgin Hotels can fit 4,600.

395,120-pound Immersive Sound system

Sphere boasts having the world’s largest concert-grade audio system, which includes 1,586 loudspeaker modules; 167,000 speaker drivers, amplifiers and processing channels; and 300 mobile loudspeaker modules.

But, you’d probably never know that if you visited the venue.

Sphere says that 99 percent of the sound system is hidden behind an “acoustically transparent” LED screen.

The venue also has beam-forming sound technology that can control sound waves and make sound consistent from a speaker to the audience. Audio can also be directed to different parts of the venue to allow for audience members to have a different sound experience than other parts of the venue.

There are a variety of sound beams, including a low frequency beam; a focused beam to send sound to specific areas; and a coverage beam to ensure even coverage and volume of sounds, to name a few.

When is the first show at the Sphere?

U2 will open the venue beginning Sept. 29 with 25 shows for the “U2: UV Achtung Baby” series.

In May, eight dates were added to the residency for December.

But, the shows will cost you a pretty penny. Due to Live Nation’s dynamic pricing, which adjusts ticket prices based on demand, tickets online are currently listed between $267 and nearly $1,500.

Contact Taylor Lane at tlane@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tmflane on Twitter.

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