Maryland Approves $215 Million for a Mini Sphere Near D.C.

By Elena Vasquez

Prince George's County Council has approved up to $215 million in funding for a Sphere venue on the Potomac River, just south of Washington, D.C. The unanimous vote on October 27 moves the $1.4 billion project, first announced in January, one step closer to construction.

The Maryland venue will copy the Las Vegas Sphere's shape but shrink its scale. The Las Vegas original holds up to 20,000 people; the planned National Harbor capacity is roughly 6,000 — about 30 percent of the Nevada flagship. The new Sphere will sit inside a larger complex.

WTOP first reported the council's decision.

What did officials promise the venue will deliver?

County Executive Aisha Braveboy put hard numbers on the project's projected payoff at a news conference.

• $1.3 billion in economic impact for Prince George's County
• $1.5 billion in economic impact for the state of Maryland
• $63 million in annual revenue from property tax and sales and amusement tax alone

"This project represents a $1.3 billion dollar economic impact to Prince George's County and a $1.5 billion dollar impact to the state of Maryland," Braveboy said. "This project is projected to generate $63 million annually in just property tax and sales and amusement tax alone."

The $63 million yearly figure is the number taxpayers can hold officials to; the billion-dollar totals are projections spread across the project's economic life.

What about the workers?

Earlier in October, the council approved a labor peace agreement allowing Sphere employees to organize once the venue opens. The deal excluded the construction workers who will build it.

No groundbreaking date has been set. No opening date has been confirmed either.

Why the Sphere brand carries weight

The Las Vegas Sphere opened in 2023 and has since hosted large-scale residencies from U2, No Doubt, Dead & Company and Metallica, among others. Backstreet Boys, the Eagles, Carín Leon and John Mayer all have upcoming shows booked at the Nevada venue.

That residency track record is the pitch: Maryland's smaller dome would bring the same format — immersive, high-capacity residencies — within reach of the East Coast concert market centered on Washington, D.C.

If the financing and labor questions hold, National Harbor could become the second Sphere in the United States and a test of whether the format travels beyond Las Vegas.