Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s office said Sunday that a “mini-Sphere” — a little brother to the famous Sphere in Las Vegas — is planned for National Harbor.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s office said Sunday that a “mini-Sphere” — a little brother to the famous Sphere in Las Vegas — is planned for National Harbor in Oxon Hill.
Sphere Entertainment Co. is working with Maryland, Prince George’s County and Peterson Companies. This venue would be the second in the U.S., after the Las Vegas venue which opened in 2023.
The proposed venue would be the first smaller-scale Sphere with capacity of 6,000 seats, and feature an Exosphere — the exterior LED display of Sphere that showcases both artistic and branded content, according to a release.
The venue would also include the world’s highest-resolution LED screen, as well as all of Sphere Entertainment’s other technologies such as immersive sound and 4D effects.
“Our focus has always been on creating a global network of Spheres across forward-looking cities,” James L. Dolan, executive chairman and chief executive officer of Sphere Entertainment said.
“Sphere is a new experiential medium. With a commitment to bringing innovative opportunities to residents and visitors, Gov. Moore, County Executive Braveboy, the State of Maryland, and Prince George’s County recognize the potential for a Sphere at National Harbor to elevate and advance immersive experiences across the area.”
This project would use a combination of public and private funding in the order of $200 million. The release said Sphere would also support nearly 2,500 jobs during the construction phase, and 4,750 jobs once the venue opens, as well as generate millions in additional revenue for the county and state.
The economic impact of Sphere National Harbor is expected to be greater than $1 billion annually.
“Maryland has a long history of providing world-class entertainment and we could not be more excited to work with Sphere Entertainment to bring this cutting-edge project to life,” Gov. Wes Moore said in a release.
“This will be one of the largest economic development projects in Prince George’s County history — proving once again our state is the best place in the country to bring dreams to life. We’re excited for what this means for our people, and how it will showcase the best of what Maryland has to offer to everyone who visits.”
The proposed venue is still being negotiated on and awaiting approvals from Sphere, Prince George’s County and the State of Maryland.
A.I. restoration makes landscapes sharper, but it also pushes Dorothy, her friends and especially the extras toward an uncanny smoothness that feels oddly post-human. Photo: Stephen Garrett for Observer
Anyone unimpressed with Glinda’s newly gifted vehicular spherical globe in Wicked: For Good might follow the Yellow Brick Road to Las Vegas and its own magic bubble. James Dolan’s Sphere, known mainly for hosting live concerts, is currently the home of a wildly distended, dazzlingly supersized and grotesquely manipulated version of 1939’s classic film The Wizard of Oz.
All the action unfolds on a 160,000-square-foot LED screen with 16K resolution, dominating its viewers with an image over 300 feet high. (IMAX, eat your heart out.) Capacity for the event is 10,000 for each screening, and audiences have been coming in droves since it opened on August 28. The initial run-through, scheduled to end on March 31, has now been extended through May.
Not quite the cinematic reinterpretation that the pair of Wicked films offer, this newly bedazzled curio—known formally as The Wizard of Oz at Sphere and presented in 4D—is, in its own way, just as subversive, if not downright corny. Brace for a teeth-rattling tornado sequence with actual wind machines blowing debris all around while your haptic seat shakes and quivers! Dodge the Styrofoam apples that fall from the ceiling when the sentient trees throw their fruit at Dorothy! Feel the Great and Powerful Oz thunder his declarations while white flashes and bursts of flames pop around the venue’s perimeter! And are those mannequin-sized drones buzzing overhead doubling as flying monkeys?
The butchery is undeniable: This Sphere-ified Oz is 75 minutes long, nearly 30 minutes shorter than the beloved classic. Hope you’re not a big fan of the Cowardly Lion, because his song about being the King of the Forest is totally gone. Other nips and tucks include less time with the villainous Almira Gulch, a truncated visit to Professor Marvel, shortened conversations with Glinda the Good, a condensed version of “Ding-Dong the Witch is Dead,” plus abbreviated introductions to the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion.
Sphere’s version heightens every iconic sequence, amplifying the story’s visual drama far beyond the original. Photo: Stephen Garrett for Observer
But there’s more than enough spectacle to impress. The film is literally expanded in all directions, giving a truly immersive dimension to Hollywood’s adaptation of Frank L. Baum’s fairy tale. You think the Tin Man gets buffed and shined in the Emerald City? This Oz is digitally zhuzhed and A.I.-enhanced beyond belief, with beautifully crisp landscapes and buildings that feel uncannily real.
Sepia-toned Kansas is even more starkly handsome, with razor-sharp bales of hay, lifelike barnyard chickens and cows and an expansive copper sky overhead. When Dorothy sings about happy little bluebirds in “Over the Rainbow,” one of those chirping warblers is now soaring above to match her upward gaze.
And when that twister uses its gale-force winds to lift up Dorothy’s house, we’re no longer on the inside looking out; now we’re in the eye of the storm, watching not only the house fly by but also swirling bovines, airborne men in a rowboat and—in an extended version of the iconic sequence—a bicycling Ms. Gulch transformed into the broomstick-riding Wicked Witch of the West. (Look straight up at Sphere’s domed ceiling, by the way, and you can see right out of the tornado’s cylindrical form and notice a perfectly calm circle of sky.)
One set piece after another amazes. The Yellow Brick Road looks newly-paved in its bright canary hue; the merry old Land of Oz has vast rolling hills and picture-perfect mountains; candy-colored Munchkinland is an absolutely vibrant village; the Haunted Forest has a vividly menacing darkness; And the Emerald City, with extended towers and ornately expanded walls, shimmers in all its Art Deco glory. The Wizard’s vast, dark green Chamber now has a skylight; the Wicked Witch’s castle looms with extra wickedness. And the ruby slippers shine with vibrant intensity. The glammed-up production design is absolutely astounding.
There’s only one problem, and it’s a big one: the cast. No amount of digital wizardry (yet) can convincingly re-render actual 1939-era actors into a 2025 production. You can only upconvert the visual resolution of the film’s characters so much—completely wiping away the film grain eliminates skin pores, leaving faces eerily smooth and plastic.
Dorothy and her trio look like they’ve been peeled off the impeccably revivified Yellow Brick Road and then placed back, like sticker-book figurines. There’s a loss of gravity to their movements. At times, they even seem to be floating. Toto, too, with his shock of matted fur, seems digitally fuzzy. And other people have garish enhancements: the Wicked Witch suddenly has a hugely prominent black hair growing out of the mole on her green chin.
Even worse are the background actors. The main reason why so many scenes were trimmed and cut from the original film wasn’t necessarily to tighten up the running time; it was also to cannibalize the Extras and reinsert them on the left and right sides of the newly extended, digitally enhanced scenery.
So Munchkinland now has crowds of people standing behind Dorothy, in an A.I.-sweetened loop where they rock back and forth, waving their arms or shifting their weight endlessly in a computer-generated spell that prolongs their screen time. Some of the Extras’ faces look smeared and oddly deformed, due to those same A.I. enhancements. More than a few times, they even stare, with dead-eyed smiles, straight into the camera. It’s deeply unsettling and more than a little distracting.
A.I. augmentation brings new clarity and scale to the film’s world, even as it introduces uncanny distortions. Photo: Stephen Garrett for Observer
Intriguingly, many scenes have less editing in them: instead of cutting between the Tin Man’s solo dance and a shot of Dorothy and the Scarecrow watching him, for example, all three of them now share the same enormous frame—the Tin Man in the middle, Dorothy and the Scarecrow on the right. Thanks again to A.I., the Tin Man’s entire dance routine is seamless. But now Dorothy and the Scarecrow’s sight lines don’t match. Dorothy actually looks a bit bored, and seems to be staring off into the distance.
Worst of all is how A.I. has compromised the film’s emotionally poignant climax. In the original film, when Dorothy says goodbye to her companions, the camera fills the frame with them one at a time for each tender farewell. At Sphere, all three stand in a row, waiting for Dorothy to talk to them. Weirdly, each one is slightly out of focus—and each only comes into focus once Dorothy starts to talk to them. When she stops talking to them, they stop emoting and go back out of focus. Then, like the Extras, each one goes into a powered-down mode, shifting back and forth as though in a trance.
As an example of cutting-edge technology used to turn a national cultural treasure into a gloriously kinetic thrill ride, The Wizard of Oz at Sphere is certainly great and powerful. As a tool for enhancing the power of human connection through storytelling, it needs to keep waving its magic wands. We’re definitely not in Kansas anymore, but we still have a long way to go before we get to Oz.
According to Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE: SPHR), its reimagining of “The Wizard of Oz” is generating blockbuster returns, with over $130 million in receipts from 1 million tickets sold as of October 17, just seven weeks after its August 28 premiere.
The Wicked Witch of the West seems to envision a sphere in her future. (Image: Rich Fury/Sphere Entertainment)
The company had previously announced on September 15 that it had sold 500,000 tickets, earning $65 million, suggesting a consistent monthly revenue pace of $2 million per day.
Shares of SPHR surged for two days on the good news. On Tuesday, the company’s stock climbed 5.5% to $66.54, following a 7.5% gain on Monday. Year-to-date, SPHR is up 56.5%, significantly outperforming the S&P 500’s 14.5% rally.
They’re Off to See the Wizard
While its estimated $100 million production cost was a gamble, “The Wizard of Oz” has more than paid off. (Analysts at Wolfe Research project that the production could cross the $500 million revenue threshold sometime next year.)
In fact, if current demand can be sustained, it could very well single-handedly turn the company’s financial fortunes around.
Though Sphere Entertainment has not disclosed its total debt load in recent filings, pre-opening reports from Bloomberg and Reuters cited approximately $1.8 billion in debt, largely tied to the venue’s $2.3 billion construction and tech infrastructure costs. Operating costs were estimated at $20 million per quarter in 2024, though recent profitability suggests that the venue’s financial trajectory is improving.
And there is every reason to believe that that demand for this production can be sustained, since it is only playing on one screen on Earth and there are hundreds of millions of “Wizard of Oz” fans who haven’t seen it yet.
The 75-minute experience — trimmed by 20 minutes from the 1939 original to allow up to eight daily screenings — was rebuilt using advanced AI and CG technology to fit Sphere’s 160,000-square-foot wraparound LED screen, the largest of its kind.
The production also includes immersive enhancements including wind, lighting effects, custom scents and haptic seat feedback.
“The Wizard of Oz” at the Las Vegas Sphere plays multiple times per day. The cheapest seats ($129-$137) are weekday morning and afternoon showings, while evening seats go for between $170-$182. Tickets are available at the Sphere website.
Following recent successful get-togethers at Coachella and FireAid, No Doubt is reuniting once again: a six-show residency has been set for May 2026 at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
The dates are May 6, 8, 9, 13, 15 and 16.
The group – Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal, Tom Dumont and Adrian Young – most recently performed at the FireAid benefit concert in January, helping raise money for those impacted by the L.A. wildfires. The concert was held at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum.
Regarding the Vegas residency, Stefani said in a statement, “The opportunity to create a show at Sphere excites me in a new way. The venue is unique and modern and it opens up a whole new visual palette for us to be creative. Doing it with No Doubt feels like going back in time to relive our history, while also creating something new in a way we never could have imagined.”
No Doubt will be the first female-fronted act to perform at the Sphere. Other performers there have included Dead & Co., U2, Eagles, Anyma and Backstreet Boys.
Tickets go on sale to the general public on October 17. Presales for No Doubt’s Sphere residency begin October 15. For more information, visit the No Doubt website.
The Zac Brown Band has added two more dates to what is now an eight-show residency at the Las Vegas Sphere. The extra demand is no shock, since the country group’s first four Sphere shows are entirely sold out, and they headlined for a record-shattering 110,000 fans at Truist Park in Atlanta this summer.
Zac Brown, the man and the band, are in demand at the Sphere. (Image: Shutterstock)
Tickets for Friday, January 16 and Saturday, January 17, go on sale to the general public 10 a.m. PT Thursday, October 9 at thesphere.com, with a Sphere presale at 19 a.m. PT on Wednesday, October 8. (Use Code: SPHERE).
More Curtains for Rod
Stewart premiered at the Colosseum at Caesars palace in 2011, and performed his 200th show there on March 12. (Image: Shutterstock)
Rod Stewart is extending his Caesars Palace residency, “The Encore Shows,” into next year with six shows that will fall after his 81st birthday: May 27, 29 and 30, and June 2, 4 and 6.
“Next year will mark 15 years at The Colosseum and I still get terribly excited each time I return. I love this theatre,” Stewart said in a statement.
Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. PT October 3, with fan presales already underway.
Early Cat Call
Rapper Doja Cat was born Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini on October 21, 1995. (Image: Live Nation)
Doja Cat just announced she will perform at T-Mobile Arena on October 31. If only one month’s notice seems a little late to make Vegas plans, that’s October 31, 2026!
Tickets go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. PT October 10 via Ticketmaster.com. Go to signup.ticketmaster.com/dojacat for presale information.
More Music News…
Nine Inch Nails will bring the second leg of its “Peel It Back” tour to the MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 7. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, October 8 via AXS.com.
Collective Soul will return to the Venetian Theatre on February 4, 6 and 7. The general on-sale begins 10 a.m. Friday, October 3, at 10 a.m. PT via Ticketmaster.com, with presales beginning today..
The Neon City Festival, scheduled as downtown’s counter-programming to the Strip’s F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix race, will feature Good Charlotte, Deadmau5, Breaking Benjamin, Two Friends, Fitz and the Tantrums, Bowling for Soup and De La Soul, among others, from November 21-23. Admission is free.
The biggest blockbuster of the summer came out 86 years ago. While some people balk at the idea of paying $12 to catch a film that’ll be on streaming platforms a month later, apparently thousands of folks are flocking to the Sphere in Las Vegas and dropping about $200 a ticket to watch The Wizard of Oz, according to a report from Bloomberg. The film is reportedly grossing about $2 million per day from its showtimes on just one (very large) screen.
Citing information from Wolfe Research, Bloomberg says that the new AI-slop-filled The Wizard of Oz could gross more than $500 million by the end of the year, and as much as $1 billion before the run concludes. The version of the film showing at the venue has been adapted to fit the 160,000 square foot screen and make use of the Sphere’s unique environment.
Sphere Entertainment, owned by New York billionaire and noted self-appointed blues musician James Dolan, spent $100 million on making the film fit the venue after securing the rights to show it from Warner Bros. That included using AI to upscale the resolution of the film and artificially create extra scenery to make it fit on the venue’s screen, and going full “4D” to have artificial winds blow in the faces of the audience when the tornado hits.
Dolan also reportedly cut the film down to 70 minutes, per a review from the Los Angeles Times, to squeeze in more showtimes, which, oof. Nothing better encapsulates the tech mentality of slashing something that is a true spectacle in order to turn up the flashiness in favor of substance and maximize profits. But hey, people seem to enjoy it.
“The Wizard of Oz” (1939) vs. “The Wizard of Oz at Sphere” (2025)
Over 90% of the film has been “touched up” with AI to create this new version of the film. Personally, I find this to be disgraceful. pic.twitter.com/l1KcZHwsC3
— The Oz Archive (Tyler) (@TheOzArchive) July 29, 2025
The Wizard of Oz likely won’t be the last film to get the Sphere treatment, either. Dolan is shopping for other films to throw on the massive screen and is interested in the rights to the Harry Potter and Star Wars films, among others, per Bloomberg. It’ll be interesting to see if Dolan manages to get the same deal on those films as he did with The Wizard of Oz, as he only had to pay a licensing fee to Warner Bros. to show it and will pocket the profits from each showing. Now that the studios know what films make when shown in the Sphere, they might be interested in a cut.
While Dolan tries to lock down more rights, the Sphere already has a few other screenings joining the mix. It has been showing Postcard From Earth, a documentary by Darren Aronofsky, and an extreme sports documentary called From the Edge will be joining the marquee next year. If Dolan’s Knicks keep paying the luxury tax, you can thank the Sphere.
Does he know the Wizard is kind of the baddie? Photo: Brenton Ho/Variety via Getty Images
Playing the titular role, MSG CEO James Dolan opened The Wizard of Oz at Sphere Thursday night. Famously, the Wizard is a charlatan in every version of the text. In the books and 1939 film, he’s relatively harmless. In Wicked, he’s basically a fascist. But in Las Vegas, where spectacle-over-substance is kind of the whole point, the Wizard was a beneficent showman. Kind of like James Franco in Oz the Great and Powerful?
The Wizard of Oz at Sphere is the latest Contrabulus Fabtraption MSG has put on in their Vegas orb. It is a “reimagining” of the 1939 MGM film starring Judy Garland.
Yes and no. MSG, Google Cloud, Warner Bros. Discovery, and VFX studio Magnopus upscaled The Wizard of Oz to 16Kand used generative AI to fill the frame. Because there’s so much more frame to fill with a near-360 screen. The film also cuts 20 minutes out of the runtime, but adds 4DX-style elements to the show, like a wind effect during the tornado scene.
According to Google, AI was used to “enhance the film’s resolution, extend backgrounds, and digitally recreate existing characters who would otherwise not appear on the same screen.” So instead of how the film would cut to Dorothy, then the Scarecrow, then back to Dorothy, it now keeps everybody on the same giant frame. That’s right, we’re doing long-ass oners in this version of The Wizard of Oz. And AI was used to insert James Dolan and David Zaslav into the movie.
MSG Entertainment and Warner Bros. Discovery CEOs James L. Dolan and David Zaslav were digitally inserted into the background of The Wizard of Oz at Sphere. “I won’t tell you where, it’s only for like two seconds,” Dolan said at the premiere. “[They] replaced the faces of two very short, two-second characters in the movie with mine and David. I challenge you to find it.” Going from Dolan’s hint, we’re guessing the VFX team took the faces off two little people actors. Cool! VFX specialst Ben Grossman added that the two actors were “too blurry to be identified.”
Critically, the reviews are mixed. Salon called it “an atrocity.” USA Today said people worried about the use of AI should “shelve” their “protestations” until they see the film themselves. The site also featured a beta testing “Deeper Dive” AI feature that could tell readers all about “ethical AI.” Varietywas somewhere over the rainbow in the middle, saying the spectacle was spectacular but the AI was kind of ghoulish, especially when it “was used to replace Judy Garland’s face with a poreless plastic sheen (where film grain and delicate lighting gave her skin a certain softness before). Dorothy’s once-glistening eyes now look almost cow-like, framed by fine CG eyelashes.”
Financially, it had better be really freaking successful. Dolan told The Hollywood Reporter“We went way over the budget. What we were originally thinking, we ended up almost two times what we were originally thinking. We’re getting up pretty close to that $100 million mark.” MSG plans to play the film at Spheres across the globe for at least a decade. In fairness, it took the OG Wizard of Oz a long time to make its money back, too.
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission.
Sports and entertainment fans will be seeing a lot more of Verizon this season, as the telecommunications company has been announced as the Official Mobile Wireless Partner for the MSG Family of Companies.
The new partnership will see Verizon branding and activations across the MSG portfolio of venues, which includes Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall and The Sphere in Las Vegas, among others. Verizon will also team up with the company’s sports franchises, which include the NBA’s New York Knicks and the NHL’s New York Rangers.
Verizon customers, meantime, will get exclusive tickets to select concerts and shows at Radio City, Beacon Theatre, The Theater at Madison Square Garden and The Chicago Theatre. Verizon subscribers will also get exclusive access to all live events at Madison Square Garden that are part of the “Arena Concert Series,” and exclusive access to tickets for select concerts at The Sphere.
Customers can see a full list of shows and activations through Verizon Access, the company’s destination for tickets, presale access, VIP experiences and more.
In a press release, Verizon calls this a “first-of-its-kind integrated marketing partnership,” that will not only provide exposure for Verizon across MSG’s portfolio of properties, but also offer fans a way to experience their favorite performers and teams in a whole new way.
Case in point: Verizon will unveil two branded hospitality spaces inside Madison Square Garden. The “Verizon Club” will be open for all Rangers and Knicks games this upcoming season, as well as select concerts and shows. The “Verizon Lounge,” meantime, is a brand new space being built inside The Theater at MSG. Both spaces will be open to select Verizon Customers and premium ticket holders to enjoy light bites and drinks before and during events.
“This is a landmark partnership for the MSG Family of Companies and Verizon, bringing together a diverse portfolio of premier global brands that share a commitment to providing exceptional experiences for customers,” says Josephine Vaccarello, Executive Vice President, Live, MSG Entertainment, in a release. “We look forward to offering Verizon customers exclusive tickets to events across our legendary venues in New York, Chicago and Las Vegas via their new Verizon Access platform.”
“Our partnership with the MSG Family of Companies provides Verizon customers with premium access to the most iconic venues and events in sports and entertainment,” adds Nick Kelly, VP, Partnerships at Verizon. “This expanded collaboration will elevate the fan experience and keep people connected in-venue through the power of Verizon’s 5G technology.”
VERIZON DEAL
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Verizon’s Sphere integrations actually began on July 4, when they presented the “Sphere Fourth of July Celebration” on the Exosphere – the wrap-around exterior LED screen of Sphere in Las Vegas.
Something strange happened during the lead-up to Noche UFC, the promotion’s second annual celebration of Mexican Independence Day. For the first time since becoming interested in MMA during the McGregor era and falling in love with the sport during the pandemic, I skipped all of my UFC fight week traditions. I hadn’t tuned in to a single episode of Embedded, nor did I watch the press conference on Thursday or the ceremonial weigh-ins on Friday. And I certainly didn’t have my usual “one more sleep” jitters heading into Saturday. What’s clear to me now is my lack of enthusiasm was the result of the sort of uncertainty that leads to reservation rather than curiosity.
Almost everything about Saturday night’s card left me and other fans scratching our heads going into it, starting with its hodgepodge of a name: UFC 306: Riyadh Season Noche UFC. And then there was the star of the promotional buildup. No, not the homegrown, hype-machine-manufactured Sean O’Malley, and not even Mexico’s own Alexa Grasso, but rather The Sphere (or simply “Sphere,” as it was referred to throughout the broadcast). A Mexican-inspired Fight Night that somehow became a numbered pay-per-view presented by a Saudi Arabian festival series, boasting an arena as its main attraction, left me with questions that couldn’t be answered by the sights and sounds of a typical fight week. Instead, those questions were answered by the standard brilliance of the most production-savvy combat sports promotion this side of WWE.
When it was initially reported the cheapest seat in the house would cost over $2,000, I wondered if more impassioned Mexican and Mexican-American fight fans would be priced out in favor of casuals with cushy salaries and corporate credit cards. That concern was quieted once I heard the crowd pop for Raúl Rosas Jr. as he walked toward the octagon ahead of the night’s first prelim. I did my best Irish accent and asked who da fook is dat guy when I found out four fighters I’d never heard of were opening the main card. Lo and behold, those were the two most entertaining bouts of the evening, with Esteban Ribovics and Daniel Zellhuber earning Fight of the Night bonuses that could have just as easily gone to Ronaldo Rodríguez and Ode’ Osbourne. And, as Sean O’Malley took issue with himself at one point, I noted with interest, which soon soured into ambivalence, that the event’s venue was being promoted more heavily than the then-bantamweight champion at the top of its billing. I don’t know about him, but I understood why that was by the end of the night, as the suspense surrounding what a sporting event at The Sphere might look like paid off more abundantly than the one-way drubbing most educated fans correctly predicted he’d receive in the main event.
But above all, the main question I had before last night was why did the UFC’s first and potentially only appearance at The Sphere need to be on Mexican Independence Day? As Noche UFC neared, my thinking was that, presumably, an event headlined by the eventual return of either Conor McGregor or Jon Jones would have made for a greater pop cultural spectacle, International Fight Week would have led to less complicated branding, and UFC 300, which fans and pundits also made the mistake of underestimating, would have allowed for a deeper card. Again, the event itself convinced me of its merits in a way that no moment on Embedded or confrontation at a press conference could have prepared me for.
No alternative I had in mind for a more appropriate Sphere card would have resulted in the breathtaking storytelling of Noche UFC. The six interstitials produced by Oscar-winning filmmaker Carlos López Estrada’s Antigravity Academy made perfect use of The Sphere’s immersive capabilities, transporting audiences throughout Mexican history with images that inspired awe even through a TV screen. Ancient civilizations, heroic freedom fighters, spiritual traditions, iconic combat athletes, and the virtues of Mexican culture were all honored with Lucasesque light and magic. Eight first- and second-generation Mexican Octagon Girls strutted between rounds wearing stunning costumes inspired by their shared heritage.
The main event notwithstanding, the fights themselves lived up the pageantry of the night in ways only the drama of high-level MMA could, especially when booked in celebration of a culture’s fighting spirit. Minutes after a short film told the story of Indigenous warriors, the earliest people to fight for the land now known as Mexico, Mexican flyweight Ronaldo Rodriguez escaped two near-completed submissions and persevered his way to a unanimous decision over Ode’ Osbourne. Right after that, Mexico City-born Daniel Zellhuber battled Argentina’s Esteban Ribovics with the breakneck pace of a Street Fighter button-mashing, losing on the cards but winning over fans like me who were watching him compete for the first time. And despite a lackluster performance from former Women’s Flyweight Champion Alexa Grasso, I found myself on the edge of my seat seemingly once per round, attempting to will a tap from Valentina Shevchenko into existence.
Similar to 300 before it, there are images from UFC 306 that’ll be etched in my brain for the rest of my fandom; thrilling moments I would have never predicted when comparing the names on the card to the hyperbolic hype that preceded it.
I don’t know if Noche UFC turned out to be “the greatest sporting event of all time,” as UFC CEO Dana White promised in July. In his post-fight press availability, White admitted himself it’d be up to the public to decide if the night lived up to that claim. In general, I’m a bit allergic to making statements that grand. But what I will confess is Noche UFC was the most impressively produced televised sporting event I’ve seen with my own two eyes–better than any Super Bowl, NBA Finals, or WrestleMania I’ve ever watched.
It was a spectacle I couldn’t quite convince myself to anticipate, but one that I’ll never forget. If you’re still with me, scroll or click through the following photos for a look at what made the night so memorable.
On a windy evening in Las Vegas, U2 were finally reunited in the same arena for the first time in five years — sort of. Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. attended Friday night’s penultimate U2 show at the Sphere in Las Vegas, where he watched from a box seat in the audience.
Mullen, who has been recovering from neck surgery and other ailments, has been sitting out U2’s landmark Sphere performances. On Thursday, Bono, guitarist The Edge and bassist Adam Clayton were once again joined by Krezip drummer Bram van den Berg — who has been filling in for Mullen during the Sphere shows.
“Not since October 1978 have we played shows without Larry Mullen Jr., and it’s only right I start by introducing the man who saved the day when Larry Mullen could not make it,” Bono said in introducing his bandmates. “His name is already legend around here to people who can pronounce it. The flying while sitting-in Dutchman, Bram van den Berg on drums.”
Saturday is the final night for U2 at the Sphere, where it originally planned to play 25 shows but extended to 40. (Phish is next up, with four nights at the Sphere in April.)
Press reports had previously hinted that Mullen was making his way to Las Vegas, which sparked rumors that he might hit the stage at the Sphere for the final two shows. This would have marked the first time Mullen performed in concert with his band mates since 2019. (The drummer has continued to record with U2, however, and played on last year’s single “Atomic City”).
They were right that Mullen would be there, but didn’t perform. At Friday’s U2 show, Bono introduced Mullen in the stands: “The rumors that Larry will be playing with us tonight are not true sadly. But he is here with us!”
As the crowd started chanting “Larry,” Bono continued: “That is the man who pinned the note on the notice board at Mount Temple Comprehensive School all those years ago. And we are very grateful that he did and that he’s here with us tonight. We wish him a speedy, speedy, speedy recovery. We love you, Larry Mullen Jr. “
Bono then launched into the final song — which technically is part of the “encore,” but the band passed on the theatrics of leaving the stage and coming back.
“We play this game every fucking night, and pretend that we’re doing an encore,” Bono said. “It’s not an encore. It’s on the setlist. There is a thing called the Internet. It’s a beautiful night Larry, and this is ‘Beautiful Day.’” (Later, Bono would tweak the lyrics to add, “Larry Mullen, you’re beautiful!”)
Later, on social media, Mullen returned the thanks. “What an incredible night at the Sphere,” he said on U2’s account. “So grateful to Bono, Edge and Adam and of course Bram for an amazing job. Very emotional night for me personally.”
It was a fitting, special way to wrap up what has been a fitting, special experience for U2 and its fans. Coming off 2023’s “Songs of Surrender,” Bono and the Edge’s stripped-down reworking of U2 classics, the band has been in a bit of an introspective, celebratory mood for some time now. That also included last year’s Emmy-nominated Disney+ special “Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming, with Dave Letterman.” Now, “U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere” has been similarly unique in finding a new way to celebrate the band, its catalog and its longevity.
On Thursday night, Bono, the Edge, Clayton and van den Berg were spotted at the U2 Experience’s “Zoo Station” activation at the Venetian hotel, where they met with fans and explored the pop-up. (They also took photos inside the exhibit, including the one above.)
Much has been written about the jaw-dropping visuals inside the Sphere, and much of the imagery — including a deconstruction of the Las Vegas skyline — lives up to the hype. And even though the U2 shows are over, that impressive staging will live on via a concert film that was being shot on Friday (as well as other recent nights) and is expected to eventually play inside the Sphere.
“We are filming tonight,” Bono told the crowd. “This is the show that people will see after we all go home. In the future people will watch us, watching you… Give the future a wave.”
The enthusiastic crowd — which included several U2 family members (like Bono’s wife Alison Hewson), rocker Lenny Kravitz and other notables — obliged.
Sunset Boulevard might be getting its own orb-like structure that doubles as a billboard and broadcasting space, but the project is not trying to be the next Sphere. The Las Vegas venue has its ginormous globular eye on it.
The proposed project was previously named “The Sphere,” but its legal spokesperson, Wayne Avrashow, told The Times his clients were contacted by representatives of Sphere in Las Vegas, “who informed us that there was the potential of conflict and confusion.”
Avrashow said his clients would, as a result, change the name of the project, though they haven’t yet landed on a new moniker.
“We will do that internally and in consultation with the city,” Avrashow said.
In a statement to The Times, Sphere Entertainment said, “We will defend our products against any entity that purposefully tries to steal our IP and trade off of Sphere’s worldwide recognition.”
Similar names aside, Sphere is a dome-shaped structure and Vegas’ newest performance venue, and the West Hollywood project is spherical in shape. Sphere’s outer shell is an LED screen that displays images of a blinking eyeball, the Earth and artificial-intelligence-generated art by Refik Anadol.
The Las Vegas building reaches 366 feet high and 516 feet wide. The West Hollywood structure would be a great deal smaller, at 49 feet in diameter.
If approved, the new structure would sit between the Pendry West Hollywood and Best Western hotels on 8410 Sunset Blvd.
The project is still in its early stages. It’s undergoing review by the city of West Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard Arts & Advertising subcommittee.
Included in the proposed development are three billboards. Two would be placed on the surface of the circular structure, replacing two digital billboards currently at the site; the third is described as a “discreet vertical billboard.”
According to the project documents, the orb would be built onto an existing apartment building whose entrance is on De Longpre Avenue, which runs parallel to Sunset Boulevard.
The proposed glass sphere would have “exterior pedestrian-oriented amenities and interior spaces built around broadcasting in real time.”
The structure itself would have three levels and hover eight feet above a privately owned public-oriented plaza at the ground level, with an existing basement level below.
It’s proposed that two of the three levels house a green room and rooms for broadcasting and podcasting.
The next steps for the project are further review by the Arts & Advertising subcommittee in January, where applicants are expected to provide information on topics including potential light pollution from the project and how the building would be maintained.
Then the project eventually would go before the city planning commission and City Council.
For those who are not attending tonight’s The Marvels premiere in Las Vegas, Goose — the cat-like alien creature that appeared in Captain Marvel and returns in The Marvels — will tower over the city’s skyline on the exterior of the recently-opened Sphere.
The promo is a collaboration between software developer Autodesk and Marvel, and begins with Goose in its cat form, before transforming with her detailed tentacles on full display. It comes ahead of The Marvels‘s Nov. 10 release in theaters.
Sphere, Las Vegas’ newest entertainment venue, boasts an exterior coated with a record 580,000-square-foot 16K LED display, while its interior features a record 160,000 square-foot 16K LED display.
The Autodesk/Marvel promo was created by visual effects studio The Mill, using Autodesk Maya 3D software (which is widely used by VFX companies) for designing, lighting, rigging and animating the Goose character. It was rendered with Autodesk’s Arnold software.
“Collaborating with Autodesk on The Marvels activation has been an amazing experience,” says Jocelyn Birsch, director of experience at The Mill, which also created the visual collage, using sampled film clips of Elvis Presley, that plays during U2’s current residency at Sphere.
Since opening in late September, Sphere debuted two shows: U2 residency U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere and Darren Aronofsky-helmed movie Postcard from Earth.
The new promo is scheduled to run through Nov. 13, for the kickoff of Autodesk University, the software developer’s annual design and content creation customer confab, which will be held in Las Vegas.
U2 found what they were looking for in a duet partner Wednesday night at Sphere in Las Vegas, as Lady Gaga joined the group for duets on one of her songs, “Shallow,” and two of theirs, “All I Want Is You” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”
Bono introduced his fellow leather-jacketed guest as “the most audacious, vivacious woman in any room she’s ever in. Would you welcome to our turntable, the divine — the divinyl! — Lady Gaga.”
He wasn’t done praising her divinity. “Take it to the Elvis chapel!” exulted Bono in a breakdown in the middle of “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” — further telling his duet partner, “You are the vestal virgin of Las Vegas!”
U2 & Lady Gaga – I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (Live at Sphere Las Vegas) pic.twitter.com/D7K6qJclkX
Their joint take on “All I Want Is You” segued without any pause into Bono riffing on “Shallow,” with the singer slowly moving into the tune pointing at Gaga as if he wanted to make sure she remained on stage for it, suggesting the possibility that the band might have pulled it out on her as a surprise. Either way, she was more than ready for it.
Gaga was returning to what until recently were her own stomping grounds in Nevada. Earlier this month, on Oct. 5, she wrapped up an extension of her long-running “Jazz & Piano” show at Dolby Live in Park MGM.
Since leaving Las Vegas, Gaga seems to be doing her own tour right now — of the world’s most popular rock bands. It was only Oct. 19 that she was on the other side of the country, joining the Rolling Stones for a performance of “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” the song she sings alongside Mick Jagger on the band’s new “Hackney Diamonds” album. That duet took place during a surprise 25-minute show at the 500-capacity Racket club in Chelsea.
Not long before Gaga hit the stage in Las Vegas, the Stones’ YouTube account posted her performance of “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” with the band in New York, in full.
Gaga’s guest appearance at Sphere wasn’t her first time at the altar with U2, as it were. She performed “Ordinary Love” with Bono and company at a show at Madison Square Garden in 2015.
U2 has not had prominent guests on stage in the band’s own Vegas residency until now. There’s plenty of time to bring more out. The band recently announced an extension that will add 11 shows in January and February of 2024, bringing the total number of concerts at the new venue to 36, for now. The newly added shows are set for Jan. 26, 27 and 31 and Feb. 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, 15, 17 and 18.
