The Sphere Is A Visual Rebuttal Of Live Nation’s “Monopoly” Critics

BusinessPolicyThe Sphere Is A Visual Rebuttal Of Live Nation’s “Monopoly” CriticsByJohn Tamny,Contributor.Follow AuthorApr 28, 2026, 01:00pm EDTLAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 30: Sphere lights up on October 30, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 17,600-seat, 366-foot-tall, 516-foot-wide music and entertainment venue is the largest spherical structure on Earth and features an Exosphere with a 580,000-square-foot display, the largest LED screen in the world. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)Getty ImagesThe Sphere in Las Vegas is a visual rebuttal of those claiming Live Nation is a monopoly. Its young, but remarkable existence as the world’s highest grossing entertainment venue isn’t necessary to discredit Live Nation’s attackers, but it’s surely an effective way to do just that. That’s because the Sphere wasn’t supposed to be the Sphere. As a recent story in the Wall Street Journal indicated, when the Sphere “opened three years ago, it had all the signs of an impending disaster.” Few other than owner James Dolan saw its potential. Yet even there, Dolan likely risked his entertainment conglomerate (it includes the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, and Madison Square Garden) on what few expected to succeed. Evidence supporting the previous claim can be found in the fact that the Sphere was not just “years behind schedule” according to the Journal, it was also nearly $1 billion over budget. Only for the story to become even more terrifying. Construction on the venue began in 2018. Most readers can probably see where this is heading. Its creation coincided with lockdowns related to the coronavirus, the very lockdowns that had the future of live entertainment venues very much in question. Which requires a quick pivot back to Live Nation. While its turnkey entertainment operation is described as a “monopoly” today, do readers want to guess how those same critics might have described Live Nation in the spring of 2020 when, in the words of the Journal’s report on the Sphere, “th...