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The Sphere entertainment venue sold out 40 straight U2 shows<\/a> after it opened in Las Vegas in September 2023.<\/p>\n A little more than two years later, the Sphere Entertainment Co. has announced plans<\/a> to build a similar but smaller 6,000-seat venue in National Harbor in Maryland, a waterfront convention center hub located just 20 minutes from Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n The second U.S. venue is a sign that the immersive-experience model is working, explained Andrew Mall,<\/a> a professor at Northeastern University who studies the music industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think the story is partly about the success of Sphere in Las Vegas,\u201d Mall said.<\/p>\n The Maryland Sphere would be roughly one-third the size of the Las Vegas Sphere, which can seat 17,600 people, but would feature a similar Exosphere outer dome and a wraparound LED inner screen used for immersive films, live musical performances and other Sphere-exclusive experiences.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2025, both Billboard and Pollstar ranked the Las Vegas Sphere as the top-grossing venue in the world. In 2024, the venue generated a total of $420.5 million, beating Madison Square Garden, whose parent company also owns the Sphere, for the top spot, which generated a total of $294.8 million, according to Billboard.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Wizard of Oz at Sphere, a 4D, AI-enhanced version of the original 1939 film, has also been a\u00a0 success for the venue.\u00a0<\/p>\n Since Oz\u2019s debut in 2025 \u2014 which has multiple showings a day \u2014 the venue has sold more than 2 million tickets and collected nearly $260 million in ticket sales<\/a>. Due to the success of the film, the venue is selling tickets out to December 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s not to mention the millions of dollars raked in from performances by the likes of U2<\/a>, Dead & Company<\/a> andthe Backstreet Boys.<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n To be sure, it\u2019s not all rosy. Operating and maintenance costs remain high for the venue \u2014 which cost approximately $2.3 billion to build, part of the reason it is still operating at a loss.\u00a0<\/p>\n With the Maryland Sphere, the company is thinking smaller. The venue is projected to cost $1 billion, $200 million of which is expected to come from \u201cstate, local and private incentives,\u201d according to the company.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the Maryland expansion is part of the company\u2019s broader global push, it said. In 2024, it announced plans to build a Sphere in Abu Dhabi that would be the same size as one in Vegas. It was also aiming to build one in Stratford, London, but that was rejected by local officials.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOur focus has always been on creating a global network of Spheres across forward-looking cities,\u201d James L. Dolan, executive chairman and chief executive officer at Sphere Entertainment, said in a statement. \u201cSphere is a new experiential medium. With a commitment to bringing innovative opportunities to residents and visitors, Governor [Wes] Moore, County Executive Braveboy, the State of Maryland, and Prince George\u2019s County recognize the potential for a Sphere at National Harbor to elevate and advance immersive experiences across the area.\u201d<\/p>\n Mall said much of the Sphere\u2019s success has to do with the novelty factor. It exists within a different live entertainment sector than a typical band performance or movie-going experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMany people have a basic understanding of what a 4D could be and maybe are interested in seeing when it\u2019s this expansive and immersive, how exciting can it be,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Sphere, or Spheres if you include the future venues in development, are more of a supplement to traditional live music venues rather than eventual replacements, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think for most people it\u2019s going to be a multimedia experience primarily,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe now and then there\u2019s going to be an opportunity to see an artist with an expansive artistic vision. \u2026 In a lot of ways, it sits outside of the live music sector.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s also a medium that some artists would take more advantage of than others, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n While it might make sense for a band like U2 \u2014 which likes to incorporate giant stage productions in its performances \u2014 it might not make sense for Bruce Springston, who is more low-key, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not only about if you are a big artist or a popular artist that routinely tours large venues, but also does your artistic vision include all these different production elements,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Celia Pearce, an art and design professor at Northeastern University who studies virtual worlds, said people have been trying to make venues like the Sphere happen since the 1950s.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the past few years have been a great age for \u201clocation-based entertainment\u201d due to the reduction of costs of immersive technologies and a surge in interest for people to have in-person experiences after the pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe dome idea is really strong because you can get a lot of people in there to have a shared experience,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Immersive experiences in general are having a bit of a moment right now, she said. Escape rooms, for example, have surged in popularity in the past few years, she explained. But people are also engaging more in activities like playable theater, where audience members are invited to take part and influence the story.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think there is a growing appetite for all types of immersive and participatory experiences,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople want to get out with their friends and do interesting and fun things. They want to have a little more agency than they used to have.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n