U2 will play a month-long residency at Las Vegas' MSG Sphere

Band U2 is set to launch a series of concerts that will take place at The Venetian’s new MSG Sphere, which is expected to open sometime in the next year. James Dolan, chairman of Madison Square Garden Entertainment, is building a state-of-the-art arena with a price tag of $1.8 billion just a short distance from the Las Vegas Strip. The arena will be where the band will perform a residency consisting of multiple shows for several months.

Compared to multi-purpose arenas that also host concerts and other events in addition to sporting competitions, the MSG Sphere, unveiled in 2018, was designed to deliver the best possible live music experience. The venue will use a technology called “beamforming audio,” developed by a German company, Holoplot. This technology, which sends voice instantly to targeted locations rather than blasting it over speakers spread throughout a venue, will ensure that the music sounds fantastic from every seat in the house.

MSG Sphere will have a capacity of 20,000 guests standing or 17,500 guests seated, in addition to 23 VIP suites, making it the most extensive spherical structure ever built. The building’s interior will feature an immersive display of 160,000 square feet, and its outer exosphere will use programmable LED technology to change its appearance. A pedestrian bridge that is nearly 1,000 feet long will attach the building to the Venetian Resort.

In December, Madison Square Garden Entertainment announced that it would be taking over construction of the MSG Sphere from general contractor AECOM. According to the announcement, the company had made “significant progress” on the venue’s construction, having erected the sixth-level, 490-foot-wide concrete ring beam that will be the building’s widest point. This will be the venue’s widest point.

The opening of the MSG Sphere had been planned for 2021, but it has been postponed until 2023 due to complications caused by the pandemic. When the FIA Formula One World Championship comes to Nevada in November 2023, the venue is expected to be open in time to participate in the event.