One of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, the Las Vegas Strip often gets crowded with cars and people creating gridlock for both. The car issue may be solved if Elon Musk's Boring Company completes its network of underground tunnels that will use driverless Teslas as a sort of subway.
That plan has happened very slowly, but it has progressed with loops connecting both halves of the Las Vegas Convention Center to each other and to Resorts World Las Vegas. A lot of work remains, and much doubt exists about whether the project will ever be fully completed as currently planned, but if it is, then it will alleviate the vehicle traffic problem.
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Foot traffic on the Las Vegas Strip, however, continues to get worse. The problem has been exacerbated by two major problems. First, people can't walk the Strip in a linear fashion on sidewalks. They have to take escalators to use raised platforms, and then return to the street.
Second, there's a problem people simply stopping to marvel at the wonders of the Strip. That literally led to Clark County commissioners approving an ordinance prohibiting people from “stopping, standing or engaging in an activity that causes another person to stop” on Strip pedestrian bridges and the 200-foot surrounding connected stairs, elevators, and escalators.
A new decision by Clark County, however, could further increase people stopping on the Las Vegas Strip to gawk at what has quickly become its most impressive site.
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Image source: Sphere Entertainment.
Las Vegas Sphere sound plan moves forward
While The Las Vegas Sphere already turns heads with its incredibly impressive visuals, it has moved closer to adding audio into the mix, at least on select nights.
"The Paradise Town Advisory Board voted to allow the Sphere to exceed Clark County noise limitations in a meeting Tuesday (Aug. 13) night after executives changed their terms in what residents called an unexpected move," the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. "In a 3-1 vote, the board allowed the Sphere, which sits on The Venetian’s property, to emit loud noise until midnight on 18 occasions throughout the year despite an uproar from residents of Park Towers, a high-rise apartment complex nearby."
Noise considerations would also be an issue at the many adjacent resort casino properties.
Currently, if you stay downtown on Fremont Street, where the nightly street party goes until 2 a.m. you need to stay on a higher floor to not hear the music. The Sphere could cause a similar impact.
Under the current proposal, there will be a decibel limit and all sound must end by midnight with the exception of New Year's Eve.
The Clark County Planning Commission will have a final ruling on the issue on Sept. 4
Las Vegas Sphere has been a major draw
In addition to being a site from the outside, the Las Vegas Sphere has managed to attract people to its concerts and signature events. That's something Sphere Entertainment (SPHR) CEO James Dolan talked about during his company's third-quarter earnings call.
"For the third quarter, Sphere welcomed nearly 1 million guests to more than 270 events. This event volume once again far exceeded the world's busiest venues. It also drove robust revenue and positive adjusted operating income for the Sphere segment for the second consecutive quarter. These results were led by The Sphere Experience featuring Postcard from Earth," he said.
The company has also seen increased interest in what happens on the outside of the venue (the Exosphere in company parlance).
"Turning to the Exosphere, advertisers continue to see significant value in this platform. This is especially true during tentpole events in Las Vegas. We had two great examples this past quarter, the Consumer Electronics Show in January, followed by the Super Bowl in February," he added.
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Sphere Entertainment reported its Q4 and full-year results on Aug. 14.
"For fiscal 2024, the company reported revenues of $1,026.9 million, an increase of $453.1 million as compared to the prior year. In addition, the company had an operating loss of $341.2 million, an increase of $68.2 million, and adjusted operating income of $80.7 million, an improvement of $203.3 million, both as compared to the prior year," it shared on its website.
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