Set to open in just over a year, construction at MSG Sphere at The Venetian has progressed to the point where you can envision the central section of the steel supporting what’s billed as the highest-resolution curved LED screen in the world.
According to a Madison Square Garden press release, the MSG Sphere construction team calls this section the “mohawk” because of how it arches in a strip from behind the center of the stage up 240 feet above the venue floor and reaches behind the seating area. The highest sections are partially supported by catwalks connecting to the underside of the domed roof, which is how the nearly four-acre LED display will eventually wrap up, over and behind the audience to create an immersive visual environment.
Once the entire steel framework is complete later this year, it will weigh approximately 730 tons and support the 160,000-square-foot LED screen as well as the 170,000 speaker HOLOPLOT multi-layered audio system.
Crews have built the widest part of the exosphere–516 feet in diameter–and are now placing the upper sections where the Sphere begins to close in towards its pinnacle. Once complete, the exosphere will stand at 366-feet tall, more than 80 feet higher than the top of the main venue today. It will ultimately be covered with approximately 580,000 square feet of fully programmable lighting–to create a dynamic exterior display with limitless creative possibilities.
We had a chance to view the exterior during a recent Las Vegas trip, and in a city sporting plenty of unique architectural touches, the spherical design already stands out, despite being a little hidden in back of the Venetian. Still, upon opening, it’s poised to be a unique entertainment venue.
Photos courtesy MSG Entertainment.
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