James Dolan's sketch of the Sphere becomes reality as the venue opens with a U2 show in Las Vegas
It started as a crude sketch of a circle with a stick person inside LAS VEGAS -- It started as a crude sketch — a circle with a stick person inside. Seven years later, that drawing has been made real: A $2.3 billion massive spherical venue, standing 366 feet (111 meters) high and lighting up the Las Vegas skyline. The drawing was initially made by James Dolan, the executive chair of Madison Square Garden and owner of the New York Knicks and Rangers. He and MSG Ventures CEO David Dibble were trying to create a plan to give the entertainment venue industry a facelift in Las Vegas. Both experimented with different shapes for the structure — such as a muffin, a box and even a pyramid — until Dolan drew the circle and stick person on a notebook. At that moment, the Sphere was born. Now, Dolan’s vision will come to fruition when U2’s “UV Achtung Baby” residency kicks off the opening of his high-tech, globe-shaped venue Friday night. “It really is a new medium,” said Dolan, speaking to the m...