Marketers eye advertising on Las Vegas’ newest flashy entertainment venue — the $2.3B MSG Sphere

26 Jul 2023

Las Vegas, a new type of entertainment venue, the MSG Sphere, located at The Venetian Resort, will open in the fall for a U2 concert after four years under construction. And with it comes the ad opportunities.

Already the dome’s exterior — while inside has yet to be publicly unveiled — has taken the appearance of an eyeball, the moon, and — as its first advertiser, a basketball.

The estimated $2.3 billion dollar project is made up of around 1.2 million LED lights shaped like hockey pucks, which are arranged eight inches apart. It has 48 individual LED diodes on each puck, allowing each puck to display 256 million colors. They will make up unique ad inventory for both inside and outside the venue.

The NBA was the first brand to use the Sphere for two weeks beginning July 4th when it promoted its NBA Summer League taking over the Sphere in the shape of a basketball, said Guy Barnett, svp of brand strategy and creative development at Sphere Entertainment.

“The sphere is the first of its kind and it naturally catches the eye of anyone who comes across it,” said Tammy Henault, NBA’s CMO. “If you compare it to various outdoor media opportunities, it definitely is a highly visible, unique way to break through the clutter.”