The venue, which seats 18,600 people, is being marketed for its immersive video and audio capabilities, which include a 16K resolution wraparound interior LED screen, speakers with beamforming and wave field synthesis technologies, and 4D physical effects.

The arena cost $2.3 billion, making it the most expensive entertainment venue built in the Las Vegas Valley.

[2][3] The project was initially a partnership between the Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) and Las Vegas Sands Corporation.

[5] Apollo Global Management purchased the Venetian in 2022 and became MSG's new partner on the Sphere project, replacing Las Vegas Sands.

[9] The cost continued to increase,[10][11][12] eventually surpassing $2 billion due to the 2021–2023 global supply chain crisis and the 2021–2022 inflation surge.

[7] A groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 27, 2018, and was attended by approximately 300 people, including Las Vegas Sands' Sheldon Adelson and Nevada governor Brian Sandoval.

[17] In November 2018, it was reported that the MSG Sphere would be built along with new bars, private suites, a museum and retail space.

[25][26] In March 2020, construction reached the widest point of the spherical structure, the 516-foot (157 m) diameter,[22] located at the sixth level and 108 feet (33 m) above ground.

Over the subsequent 15 months, construction would be focused on concrete, followed by steel erection and then the 13,000-ton steel-domed roof, the most complex part of the project.

Work crews spent three weeks welding and bolting the prefabricated steel pieces together, and the crane was then used to lift the ring into place.

[53][54] On April 20, 2023, the venue's owner Madison Square Garden Entertainment (which had, in turn, been spun off from the Madison Square Garden Company in 2020 in order to focus on its professional sports assets)[55][56] spun off its "traditional" live events business under the Madison Square Garden Entertainment name in order to insulate them, retaining Sphere and its regional sports network businesses under the new name Sphere Entertainment.

[64] The company also debuted its first feature film, Postcard from Earth by director Darren Aronofsky, at Sphere on October 6, 2023.

[35] Seating does not wrap around the entire sphere, instead covering approximately two-thirds of the interior while the stage takes up the remainder.

[73] Approximately 800 seats in the venue's premium, lower-level 100 section have obstructed views of the wraparound video screen due to the overhang of the second level.

[71][77] It was designed and manufactured by SACO Technologies, a Canadian company based in Montreal specializing in LED video displays and lighting.

[83] The building's exosphere features a 580,000-square-foot (54,000 m2) LED display also designed by SACO Technologies;[84][6][85] it was the world's largest at the time the venue opened.

[89] The internal and external displays of Sphere are powered by 150 RTX A6000 graphics processing units by Nvidia, each featuring more than 10,752 cores and 48 gigabytes of memory.

[95] In total, the sound system comprises 167,000 speaker drivers, amplifiers, and processing channels, and it weighs 395,120 pounds (179,220 kg).

[85] Using beamforming capabilities, the Holoplot X1 speakers can digitally aim sound at specific spots in the audience and deliver a consistent volume to every seat in the venue, even over long distances;[101] in Sphere, the system offers 110 metres (360 ft) of sound coverage[102] to reach the furthest seats.

[67][115] The show is preceded by the "Sphere Experience", a demonstration of the venue's capabilities that utilizes animatronic robots and holographs.

Mexican-American filmmaker Carlos López Estrada oversaw the production of six vignettes played on the screens throughout the main card, which were themed on the history of Mexico.

[127][128][129] However, in November 2023, Sphere's planning permission was rejected by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, primarily over concerns about potential light pollution.

[130] The Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen, suggested Teesside in North East England as an alternative venue for Sphere.

[132] After discussions stalled for South Korea and also Saudi Arabia, MSG was in talks with developers in United Arab Emirates to build a second location in Abu Dhabi.

[126] Ted King, who previously worked on Star Trek: The Experience, is among those who will create visual content for Sphere in Las Vegas.

[138] The studio will also produce content in association with the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix,[139] which will travel past Sphere.

[137] The facility uses Big Sky, a specialized camera system created specifically to produce material for Sphere.