Maryland Gets Its Own Sphere as County Approves $215 Million for National Harbor Venue
Prince George's County Council has approved up to $215 million to help build a Sphere venue at National Harbor, on the Potomac River south of Washington, D.C. The council voted 8-0 on October 27, according to WJLA.
The Maryland venue will be much smaller than its Las Vegas sibling. Pitchfork reports a planned capacity of around 6,000, compared with up to 20,000 at the Las Vegas Sphere. The project was first announced in January and is projected to cost around $1.4 billion. It will sit inside a larger complex at National Harbor.
The money will come from special obligation bonds, which are debts repaid from revenue tied to a specific project rather than from the county's general budget. County Executive Aisha Braveboy said the project represents a $1.3 billion economic impact on Prince George's County and a $1.5 billion impact on Maryland. The venue is projected to bring in $63 million a year in property tax, sales tax and amusement tax alone.
Workers are also part of the deal. The council approved a labor peace agreement, a pact in which an employer agrees not to oppose union organising. Under it, Sphere workers will be able to organise once the venue opens. Construction workers who will build the venue are excluded.
No dates have been set for groundbreaking or opening. Until a construction start is confirmed, the timeline for the building remains open, and so does the question of when its first crews will be hired.
For the people who will build and staff the venue, the next months will decide what the figures mean on a payslip. Construction jobs, bar and stage crews, ushers and box office staff all depend on a start date that has not yet been announced.
