Madison Square Garden (MSG) Entertainment officially pulls out of plans to construct a ‘Sphere’ for London. The original ‘Sphere’ in Las Vegas has been the talk of the town since it opened up a few months ago for the start of U2’s residency. However, recent news revealed that the MSG Sphere in Vegas reported a loss of $98.4 million, which resulted in the resignation of the Sphere’s CFO, Gautam Ranji.
Across the Atlantic in London, MSG Entertainment submitted an application withdrawal letter that stated it had “spent millions” in the process of trying to acquire the site in Stratford. According to an article from Mixmag, that process also included a five-year planning process made alongside local planning authorities and governmental institutions. The current news of the withdrawn plans arrived months after London Mayor Sadiq Khan rejected plans to build the London ‘Sphere’, which then followed up with the UK government stepping in to override the mayor’s veto.
MSG Entertainment will not build a ‘Sphere’ for London
The withdrawal of ‘Sphere’ plans for London will not put a damper on MSG Entertainment and Sphere Entertainment Co. since there are plans to expand elsewhere around the world. One very likely destination is Abu Dhabi and Sphere CEO James Dolan told the New York Post that the company is in “serious talks” with the UAE government to construct a ‘Sphere’ over there.
In the meantime, Sphere Entertainment Co. released a statement on January 8th, saying that it is thankful for all parties who were working to try bringing the ‘Sphere’ to London. Although residents of the UK capital will not get to have its very own ‘Sphere’ anytime soon, we can expect many great event to appear at the Las Vegas location, as well as possible international hotspots such as the aforementioned Abu Dhabi.
