Sphere Entertainment Stock Surges. It Has U2 to Thank.

The internet was flooded this weekend with footage from U2’s show inaugurating The Sphere, the new concert venue in Las Vegas. That was good news for shares of the building’s owner,
Sphere Entertainment.

Sphere shares (ticker: SPHR) rose 12% Monday to $41.58. Sphere spent $2.3 billion to construct the venue, and CEO James Dolan is hoping to build a series of similar venues around the world.

With a seating capacity of 17,600, the Las Vegas Sphere has a 160,000-square-foot LED screen on the interior and an exterior covered in 1.2 million programmable LEDs. That exterior is also used for revenue generation by means of advertising, with its first paid ad deal being a promotion for YouTube’s NFL Sunday Ticket offer.

Dolan’s investment empire is a series of bets on the power of live entertainment. He also heads
Madison Square Garden Sports
(MSGS), which owns the New York Knicks and Rangers, as well as
Madison Square Garden Entertainment
(MSGE), the owner of Manhattan’s Madison Square Garden.

Those who missed out on the first night at The Sphere will have plenty of chances to catch up. U2 will play a total of 25 concerts at the venue, with ticket prices ranging from around $400 to $1,495.

If you’re not such a big fan of U2 and singer Bono, there is also The Sphere Experience, advertised as a “tour into the future of technology,” at prices ranging from $49 a ticket to $199.

Write to Adam Clark at [email protected]

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