(Las Vegas) “It was supposed to cost $1 billion, but now it’s gone to $2.3 billion…”
Our Uber driver had just told us how much he loves Montreal, and here it is, what a coincidence, all the same: without even being asked, he wanted to make us feel at home, talking to us of a large amphitheater whose construction costs skyrocket to infinity. Thank you, friendly driver, we didn’t ask for so much.
It is well known that Las Vegas is the capital of excess, and in this setting, a project like the MSG Sphere fits perfectly. We can already see it in the distance, this thing, all black and windowless, which stands behind the casinos and the posters of scantily clad girls.
This black ball will be a theater, the only one of its kind, with 580,000 feet of LED panels and 170,000 speakers pointing to each seat. It looks like it will be something, and it will be, because with a price tag of 2.3 billion, it is indeed expected to be something.
This UFO that now stands in the sky of Vegas is the wild dream of billionaire James Dolan, who owns the New York Rangers and Knicks.
According to the New York Post, Dolan offered the tidy sum of $10 million to U2 so that the famous Irish group would perform in his new toy starting in September. We are talking about a total of 25 shows here and maybe more, if ever the rumor of a residency for the band in Bono proves true.
Tickets for the first evening, September 29, are already sold out, but there are still VIP packages, including the hotel, for only US$1,776.45. Hurry, it seems we’re tearing them off.