Sphere - The Strip's Giant Glowing Ball
Photo: Matt Walter from Durham, NC USA, USA, CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
A stop on Las Vegas Strip Walk, a free self-guided tour.
Walk east behind the Venetian and you can't miss it: a ball 366 feet tall and 516 feet wide, covered in about 1.2 million LED pucks. Sphere opened on September 29, 2023, with a U2 concert residency, and at about $2.3 billion it is the most expensive entertainment venue in Las Vegas history.
The outside, called the Exosphere, is a screen of roughly 580,000 square feet, about ten football fields wrapped around a ball, and it turns into whatever the day calls for: a giant eyeball, a grinning emoji, a planet, an ad. You don't need a ticket to enjoy it, and it's at its best after dark, when it shows up from all over the Strip.
Sphere is the latest chapter for a city that keeps redefining what a landmark is. In the 1950s it was neon signs; in the 1990s it was copies of Paris and Venice; now it's a building that is itself a screen. A 1,000-foot bridge links it to the Venetian's convention center.
Getting here: From the Venetian, walk east past the resort toward Sands Avenue, about 10 minutes; Sphere stands right behind it.
Did you know?: Inside, 10,000 of the seats have built-in haptics, so concertgoers can feel rumbles through their chairs.
Photo op: Step back far enough to fit the whole ball in your frame, then wait for the display to change and take a second shot.
Stops on this tour
- Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign - The Photo Everyone Takes
- Fountains of Bellagio - A Lake in the Desert
- Bellagio Conservatory - A Garden That Changes Its Clothes
- Paris Las Vegas - Half an Eiffel Tower
- Flamingo - Where the Mob Moved In
- High Roller - A Half-Hour Lap Above the Strip
- Forum Shops at Caesars - Shopping in Ancient Rome
- The Mirage Volcano Site - Where the Megaresorts Began
- The Venetian - Gondolas on the Strip
- Sphere - The Strip's Giant Glowing Ball
- Neon Museum - Where Old Signs Go to Rest
- Fremont Street Experience - Where Las Vegas Began