■ The cost of the MSG Sphere is expected to go up before the project is completed.

Execs tout opportunity for 17,000-seat venue

The cost of the MSG Sphere at The Venetian is expected to go up before the project is completed, but executives of the Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. aren’t yet issuing an estimated increase.

The 17,000-seat, first-of-its-kind entertainment venue being built just east of The Venetian and the Sands Expo & Convention Center currently has a price tag of $1.66 billion.

“This is subject to uncertainty given the project’s complexity, the more than two years remaining until the planned opening and the ongoing impact of the global pandemic,” MSG President Andrew Lustgarten said in a conference call with investors on Friday.

Lustgarten said the company had spent $645 million on the project as of Dec. 31.

Executives say they continue to be bullish on The Sphere becoming a profit center for the company when it is completed in 2023.

“We want to reiterate we continue to believe that the MSG Sphere will create significant long-term value for shareholders, and that has not changed,” Chief Financial Officer Mark Fitzpatrick said. “You’ve heard us talk before about the venue’s

unique platform, which will create compelling growth opportunities including events, sponsorships, hospitality, and we believe it is going to translate into substantial levels of revenue and (return on investment).”

Fitzpatrick said the revised timeline for completing the project could work to the company’s advantage as the city faces a slow recovery from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Overall, we’re confident the pandemic will end, we’re confident Las Vegas will return, and we’re building a venue that will capitalize on people’s intense desire to gather and take part in new experiences,” he said. “In addition to this, our extended timetable has enabled us to preserve cash in

the near term. It’s also given Las Vegas time to recover, and we think that is going to work to our advantage that tourism and the convention business will be in full swing by 2023.”

MSG announced in December that it has taken over as construction manager for the project from Los Angeles-based AECOM. AECOM has transitioned from its role as general contractor to supporting MSG Sphere with a new services agreement that facilitates the company’s continued involvement through the project’s completion.

Construction crews soon will start work on lifting some of the heaviest components of the project into place. A pair of 240-ton girders were lifted into place in October to support the 13,000-ton domed roof.

The roof will have interior and exterior LED screens that will wrap around audiences inside the building, with the exterior screens providing a new visual appearance from the 360-foot sphere.

MSG Entertainment reported a net loss of $124.9 million, $5.17 a share, on revenue of $23.1 million in its second quarter that ended Dec. 31. In the same quarter a year earlier, the company reported net income of $81.3 million, $3.39 a share, on revenue of $394.1 million.

The Review-journal is owned by the family of Sheldon Adelson, the late chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp. The MSG Sphere at The Venetian is a project by Madison Square Garden and Las Vegas Sands Corp.