LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The world has been wowed by many Exosphere displays since the venue was officially turned on about a year ago. Soon, you could also be able to hear those displays.
During a Third Quarter Earnings call with investors on Friday, Executive Chairman and CEO James L. Dolan said they're exploring the idea.
"We think there's more to do with the Exosphere. We think that we'll be able, this year, maybe this summer, add an audio component that goes along with the Exosphere, which will make the medium even more attractive."
Dolan didn't elaborate on how the company could make that happen but said it would add another element and enhance displays.
"You go ask a yak herder in Siberia about Las Vegas. He knows what Las Vegas is. The Sphere has now become sort of the showcase for Las Vegas and what we put on the Sphere garners attention around the world," Dolan said. "One of the interesting things that happened when we opened up the Exosphere and turned it on, the casinos have a surcharge if you have a room that faces the Sphere. That doesn't happen with a billboard and it gives you sort of an idea of the power that the Exosphere can have."
Meantime, Dolan said the Sphere continues to draw well with nearly one million guests visiting the venue across more than 270 events in the third quarter.
Concerts and Residencies
As Dead & Company gets ready to start its residency at Sphere, Dolan said they're seeing a lot of demand for concerts and residencies and are not just looking at rock bands.
"U2's 40-show run drew an audience on par with a national arena tour. Phish sold out its four shows in an hour. Dead & Company has already extended their upcoming residency," Dolan said. "We're looking for the acts that have the biggest draws, that have demonstrated the biggest draws and we are in discussions with a whole bunch of those."
Another thing Dolan said they look at is if the artist can create "compelling" content.
"Every time an act books the Sphere, they have to create content around it. We will never have an act play the Sphere that doesn't have something compelling up on the screen and it takes awhile to do that," Dolan explained. "The more an act can play the Sphere, like U2, the more than can monetize the content across multiple shows and therefore, invest more in the content and create a better show. That's what we're seeing now. Dead & Co premieres on Thursday and I think you're going to find that even if you're not a Deadhead, you're going to love the show. I think the same will be true for the Eagles and the next acts that we bring out."
Second attraction
Investors asked about Postcards From Earth and how Sphere will continue to evolve when it comes to original content.
"Las Vegas is a cyclical market meaning people go once a year for a convention or their annual trip," Dolan said. "I do think as we hit the annual mark for Postcards that we need to have new content in place and that new content has to be able to draw people in. It needs to be, honestly, better than Postcards and be something that draws the customer in."
According to Dolan, a second show could be announced as early as this summer.
"There is a tremendous amount of technology that we're employing in building a second attraction. You will see something you've never seen before," Dolan said. "I can tell you we're employing a great deal of tech, including a significant component of AI in this and we're following along the same themes that we've followed before, which is basically experience and immersion but with an additional technology component in there that should blow your socks off."
What's coming up?
Two big firsts are on the horizon for Sphere. They will be hosting the venue's first corporate keynote event and the first live event televised from inside the venue.
"With Hewlett Packard next month, this event will showcase how the venue's technology and offerings provide a compelling platform to educate and demonstrate," Dolan said. "Later in June, Sphere will welcome the NHL Draft. Over this multi-day run, we will also show the Sphere Experience, demonstrating our ability to officially host multiple event types on the same day. We continue to explore other event types, such as EDM shows, which can run on the same day as the Sphere Experience."
According to company filings, the company reported revenues of $321.3 million, which is up $159.3 million compared to the prior year quarter. In addition, they reported an operating loss of $40.4 million, which is an improvement of $61.5 million compared to the prior year quarter.
Dolan said there is still work to do in order to increase overall profits but he has faith the company will get there.
"This is our first year of operation and we're learning about the marketplace itself. The Las Vegas market is an interesting market. It's an international market. It has over 40 million visitors a year. Understanding how those visitors come and go and what they do is something we're still getting good at and having that reflect in scheduling, pricing, etc., we're getting better at it every day."
