MSG Sphere Las Vegas to be ready in 2023

MSG Sphere officials have announced the project will be complete 2023, as timetables have changed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Construction on the project was temporarily suspended as COVID-19 hit the Las Vegas valley, 8 News Now reports.

About 300 workers will be on-site every day, and the project has shifted to completing all superstructure concrete, structural steelwork, and building the steel domed roof, according to Nick Tomasino, Vice President of Construction for the Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp.

The unique structure — the largest man-made sphere in the world — is a work in progress behind the Ventian and the Palazzo. It is designed to be the best accoustic venue ever built.

Tomasino outlined the upcoming construction:

“We are completing the venue’s remaining concrete. This includes completing the proscenium wall behind the stage, as well as the stair and elevator cores,” Tomasino said. Crews will also place concrete for the Level 5 inboard decks.

“To complete the proscenium wall, in the coming weeks we will place two giant steel tub girders at Level 6.5. Each tub girder weighs 120 tons and once in place will be filled with concrete. The two tub girders are being installed to provide support for the steel domed roof,” he said.

The world’s 4th largest crawler crane, the DEMAG CC-8800, is being temporarily repositioned to the south end of the venue in order to place the steel girders.

The company said, once inboard concrete work is completed it will transition to structural steel starting at Level 6. This means placing steel for the Level 6, 7 and 8 inboard decks, as well as the remaining exterior ring beams starting at level 6.5.

Once all of the inboard decks and ring beams are in place, the company will begin construction of the steel domed roof.

The steel domed roof is one of the elements that makes MSG Sphere an engineering marvel, as the 13,000 ton roof will be largely self-supporting, and is one of the most complex parts of the venue’s construction.

The DEMAG CC-8800 will be used to place a 182 ton compression ring for the domed roof, the heaviest lift of the project