The giant glowing orb that reshaped the Las Vegas skyline may soon get a smaller East Coast cousin. Sphere Entertainment says it plans to develop a new "mini-Sphere" at National Harbor in Prince George's County, Maryland, about 15 minutes south of Washington, DC. The Maryland project would be the company's second US venue and its third announced globally, following Las Vegas and a full-scale Sphere planned for Abu Dhabi, per the Verge. Unlike those massive versions, the National Harbor site is designed with a capacity of about 6,000 seats—roughly one-third the size of the original's more than 17,000.
Despite the smaller footprint, the venue would keep the brand's visual and technical hallmarks: a curved exterior LED "exosphere" for digital art and advertising, and an interior built around a 16,000-by-16,000-pixel wraparound screen, immersive audio, haptic seating, and so-called 4D environmental effects. In Las Vegas, those currently include wind, fog, scents, and even falling apples during an AI-enhanced version of The Wizard of Oz. The company projects the venue would support more than 4,700 jobs and generate "millions of dollars" in revenue for local and state governments once operating.
Sphere Entertainment has not released a construction schedule or an exact site within National Harbor, a development on the Potomac River that's home to a convention center, casino, hotels, restaurants, and retail. The company says the project is not yet a done deal as the build depends on government incentives and approvals from Prince George's County and the state of Maryland, with a proposed funding mix that includes about $200 million in state, local, and private incentives. The project is expected to cost more than $1 billion, half as much as the $2.3 billion original, per the Washington Post, which reports it could be complete by 2030.
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