Vegas Sphere coming to the east coast
Sphere from Las Vegas is coming to the east coast! Sphere Entertainment announced a second U.S. Sphere to be located at the National Harbor in Maryland.
The second U.S. location for the Sphere will be the National Harbor waterfront shopping and entertainment district just outside Washington, D.C. The National Harbor Sphere will be smaller than the Las Vegas Sphere, with only one-third the capacity of the original (6,000 seats vs. approximately 18,000). The smaller-scale sphere will still contain the Exosphere exterior LED display that wows visitors on the Las Vegas Strip.
During the announcement, James Dolan, executive chairman and CEO for Sphere Entertainment, discussed the plan to replicate the experiential, immersive venue. Dolan said, “Our focus has always been on creating a global network of Spheres across forward-looking cities.”
No date was announced for the beginning of construction or the potential opening of the Sphere at National Harbor.
Plans are currently underway to construct a second full-size sphere in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island is already home to Ferrari World, Warner Bros. World, and SeaWorld theme parks, and soon a Disney park as well.
In 2009, Disney purchased land in the National Harbor site, presumably with plans to build a stand-alone resort away from the theme parks similar to Aulani, the Disney hotel in Hawaii. Disney’s plans to build in National Harbor were scrapped two years later.
Since then, National Harbor has grown into a sprawling tourist destination in the region, anchored by the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center and the MGM National Harbor Hotel & Casino. Family entertainment at National Harbor includes The Capital Wheel, water taxis to George Washington’s Virginia estate of Mount Vernon (and other D.C. sites), escape rooms, and more.
Photo by Dave Parfitt
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