One of Vegas’ newest attractions—and perhaps its most impressive—has been dazzling the skyline the last few weeks. Sphere is a groundbreaking entertainment venue built for Madison Square Garden Company (someone over there really likes shapes) designed to showcase what a venue that’s built for audio and visuals can really do. Originally lit up for the 4th of July, Sphere has been putting on displays consistently since its official opening on September 29th, 2023. More recently, the Sphere was featured as one of the main structures that the Las Vegas Grand Prix course carved around. (I have to assume that the best view of the Sphere to date is from the cockpit of an F1 car—but what do I know?) The Sphere has been catching a lot of people’s eyes due to its unconventional architecture and creative use of its LED screens (at this point, who hasn’t seen the photos of the giant ball?), and it’s hard to miss when you actually get to the city. Still, it’s best to know what you’re getting yourself into if you want to see the thing up close, so I’ve compiled a bit of info about it here. The Venue The Venue
Sphere is the largest spherical structure in the world, which means it has plenty of room for impressive features as well as plenty of seats. It has seating for 18,600 people and room for 20,000 people standing—not bad for a giant ball in the middle of the city. The seating covers about two thirds of the arena, with suites spread out across floors three and five. Each seat has high speed internet access, and a bit more than half of them (10,000 total) are equipped with haptics for more immersive performances. (These ain’t your haptics you see in those 4D theaters at amusement parks—they’re the same idea, but meant to be way more immersive.) Sphere’s interior is lined with a 16K wraparound LED screen, and at 160,000 sq. ft. it’s almost definitely bigger than the one you’ve got at home. (And if not, let me know where the Super Bowl party is.) By the way, if you’re looking for some tips on travel around Las Vegas, we have a handy app that covers restaurants, shows, attractions, nightclubs and just about all of our other favorite spots to visit (and the spots we try to avoid). It’s a nifty little thing that will help point you in the right direction when you’re in Vegas. The Exterior The Exterior
If you’re heading into Vegas and your plane passes east of The Strip, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to see Sphere from the window. When it was being built, it looked like a giant black hole, but now that the LEDs are on, it’ll be whatever they decide to display on it. (They’ve had jack-o-lanterns, flowing particles and even giant pizzas for advertisements.) The exterior has 580,000 sq. ft. of display space for its LEDs, and they make good use of it, with designs changing often. Sometimes the designs look entirely amorphous, full of floating particles that shift and flow around the sphere. Other times, they’ll load up images of giant smiley faces or other fun (usually spherical or circular) images, especially around the holidays. There’s no guarantee what you’ll see, but we’ve often found their art to be a delight. Best Ways to See the Sphere Best Ways to See the Sphere
You have a few options on how to see this attraction. The best seats in the house are inside the theater, but, as you probably guessed, those are also some of the most expensive. Tickets start at $89 for a tour of the Sphere (provided by a robot that shows you around), and you get a showing of Darren Aronofsky’s Postcard from Earth on their mega screen, but that number changes fairly often depending on how busy Vegas is. Concert tickets can easily go for several hundred dollars more. If you want to see the Sphere but aren’t too keen on hitting a concert or taking the tour, you can head to a few vantage points that will give you a good view. The Linq’s High Roller Ferris Wheel will take you up high enough to see the Sphere in all its glory. The major downside is that you’ll only have a few minutes to view it. You could also try to get a room at one of the many hotels on the east side of the Strip. The higher your floor, the better chance you have of seeing it. The only catch is that you’ll need a room that actually faces the attraction, and that can be tough to secure. (An extra tip when talking to the front desk  might help your odds though.) If you’re looking to see the Sphere for free, you’ll need to get creative. We had some luck by heading to the Wynn parking garage (3131 S. Las Vegas Blvd) and parking near the top. You can get some good views of the Sphere from this vantage point as you’re heading into the casino. No matter how you decide to view it, Sphere is an impressive sight. If you’re looking for some of the coolest attractions Vegas has to offer, it doesn’t get much bigger or better than this.