You may have read this, but after attending opening night, I've been interested in the business side of the Sphere. Mainly, how is it going to survive?
https://nypost.com/2023/02/15/u2-ge...-in-las-vegas-as-cash-concerns-mount-sources/
this article is 8 months old. so much more has come out since then, and a ton in the last week.
first - there's this - the stock price for Sphere Entertainment jumped 12% on Monday after the glowing reviews from this weekend.
Dolan's company made a 17 billion dollar windfall when they sold Cablevision. That's why he decided to do what he did - because he had a few loose bills laying around. Sure, it was more costly than expected, thanks to the global pandemic and all. but they had the money to spend.
they have the next two headlines booked - they're just giving U2 some time to breathe before announcing them.
after the glowing reviews that U2 are receiving - there is zero doubt that not only will every remaining seat for this run of shows be sold before it's said and done, but that the next two acts will likely sell even quicker.
the building is two for two right now... the outside was breathtaking and created an instant buzz. the inside delivered on everything that was premised as well, receiving almost across the board glowing reviews. the aronofsky "experience" debuts this week. i'm not exactly going to bet against the place right now. i had zero interest in seeing the movie prior to this weekend. now - if it's still playing the next time i go to vegas? yea you bet your ass i'm interested. that building is amazing.
and this idea that U2 receiving 90% of the gate is somehow bad business is just bonkers. it's pretty standard, actually. taylor swift is getting over 100% of her gate - meaning she's getting every ticket plus a percentage bonus. that's now how venues make their money on cocncerts. they make it through the "venue fee" that you pay when you buy a ticket (which is still in there, even with "all in" ticketing - it's just hidden from the customer). they make a ton of money from suites, and if i had to guess they're going to be making anywhere from 2 million to 5 million per show from concession sales.
but the number one way they make money is through advertising and corporate partnership. they're charging half a million dollars PER DAY to advertise on that thing. and they've had an advertisement up there every day. i saw two separate advertisements over the weekend - one for mortal kombat, one for the Trolls movie. that's a million per day. so we're talking 15 to 30+ million per month in advertising.
the OG Madison Square Garden in NYC was the most profitable arena in the world last year - bringing in a quarter billion in conert revenue. a quarter billion.
this place will have no issue making their money back.
