Marking the completion of the primary structural work on the venue, MSG Entertainment held a “topping out” press event on May 24 as the last steel beam moved into place, completing the forthcoming venue’s steel exosphere.
More details from MSG Entertainment:
On Tuesday, May 24th, Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. hosted a media hard hat tour on the construction site of MSG Sphere at The Venetian in Las Vegas, ahead of a ceremony to celebrate “topping out” the venue’s steel exosphere. This milestone marks the completion of primary structural work on MSG Sphere, which remains on track to open in Las Vegas in the second half of 2023.
Led by Nick Tomasino, Senior Vice President, Construction, and Lucas Watson, President, MSG Sphere, the tour showcased the completed exosphere, which is the largest spherical structure on Earth, standing at 366′ tall. This engineering marvel will ultimately be covered with approximately 580,000 sq. ft. of fully-programmable LED paneling – forming the largest LED screen on Earth. A signature feature of MSG Sphere, the exosphere will create an impactful display for partners, artists, and brands, and become an iconic addition to the Las Vegas skyline.
The process of building the steel exosphere took more than a year. With the placement of the oculus a few days ago, and a final steel pipe signed by the team today— it is considered complete. The exosphere is a geodesic sphere with 14 unique latitudes – starting at ground level and working all the way up to the oculus. Once the oculus was secured into place, the exosphere became entirely self-supporting, and now it stands entirely on its own, completely wrapping around the main venue.
Following the hard had tour, MSG Entertainment held a ceremony at the MSG Sphere construction site in Las Vegas to celebrate the topping out. Tomasino and Watson thanked the more than 1,000 tradespeople, project partners, and employees present for their incredible efforts to bring MSG Sphere to this critical milestone.
Tomasino said: “Today we are celebrating a significant milestone in MSG Sphere’s construction with the topping out of the exosphere. MSG Entertainment is building a new landmark on the Las Vegas skyline, and everyone here today has been an integral part of getting us to this moment. I look forward to continuing to work alongside this world-class team to reach the milestones to come.”
Watson said: “MSG Sphere will be unlike any venue in the world – inside and out. The spherical shape is not only a signature element of the design, but also enables an entirely new medium for fully-immersive experiences. With the topping out of the exosphere, we are one step closer to making our vision for MSG Sphere a reality. I join the entire team in recognizing the talented tradespeople bringing this one-of-a- kind project to life right here in Las Vegas.”
About MSG Sphere at The Venetian
With approximately 17,500 seats – including 10,000 immersive seats – and a scalable capacity up to around 20,000 guests, MSG Sphere at The Venetian will become the venue of choice for a wide variety of content, including attractions, concerts, residencies, product launches, and sporting events. In addition to the world’s highest resolution LED screen, MSG Entertainment has developed a multi-layered audio system equipped with more than 160,000 speakers that utilize beamforming technology to deliver targeted, crystal-clear and consistent audio to every seat in the house. The venue will also feature multi-sensory technologies such as immersive seating, evocative scents and changing temperatures, to take experiential storytelling to an entirely new level. MSG Sphere at The Venetian is scheduled to open in the second half of calendar 2023.
