MSG Sphere Plans Set to Expand London 2012 Legacy

(ATR) Plans have been submitted for a new 21,500-capacity multipurpose arena adjacent to London’s Olympic Park.

The Madison Square Garden Company has bought the 4.7 acre site in Stratford, east London, which was used as a coach park at the 2012 Games, and on Wednesday filed plans for the 90-meter-high MSG Sphere to the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC).

While primarily a concert venue with a 17,566 capacity in fully seated configuration, the venue – designed by London Olympic stadium architect Populous – would also be capable of staging sports with a capacity ranging from 6,000 to 14,000 people. As well as the main venue, the building includes space for a music club, restaurants, bars, a nightclub and retail space.

Under MSG’s plans, the arena would accommodate the largest and highest resolution LED screen in the world, adaptive acoustics delivering crystal-clear audio to guests and haptic flooring so patrons can ‘feel’ the experience.

Jayne McGivern, MSG’s executive vice president of development and construction, said if plans were approved "we believe MSG Sphere will complement London’s existing venues and drive overall growth in the music and entertainment market – benefiting residents, artists and fans."

MSG, which bills itself as "a world leader in live experiences", owns iconic venues including Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall in New York, and sports teams the New York Knicks and New York Rangers.

The sports and entertainment giant, which first revealed its plans last year, considers London to be the ideal location to build its first venue outside the USA.

"London is an established stopping point for acts on a world or European tour. However, it currently has only two dedicated large capacity arenas capable of hosting the major acts that commission world and European tours.London is an underserved market, and lacks the range and quality of venues expected of a global City," MSG said in its planning documents sent to the LLDC.

The building would be composed of a ‘skin’ of LED panels, an integral part of the MSG Sphere, which would be programmable to showcase event information and help generate revenues through advertising.

AEG, which owns and operates London’s O2 Arena, one of the busiest sports and entertainment hubs in Europe, stands to miss out on some of the touring acts and sports events, if the MSG Sphere is built.

AEG has previously said it was not against the principle of a new music venue in London but raised question marks about whether it should be located "so close to existing venues at the Olympic Park - such as the London Stadium and Copper Box – as well as AEG’s own nearby venue, the O2 arena".

"We will be scrutinizing the application very carefully given concerns as to the detrimental impact of their plans."

MSG’s submission of its plans will be followed by further consultation with city stakeholders and public engagement.

If plans get the green light from the LLDC, MSG said the venue has the potential to create up to 3,200 jobs annually across the country and up to 4,300 jobs each year during the three-year construction period.

"It’s great to hear that almost seven years on, the Olympic legacy is still alive. The creation of jobs for Londoners especially those in the Newham area is an important part of this," said Gareth Bacon, chairman of London Assembly’s budget and performance committee.

"We will be watching the LLDC closely to ensure that this proposal is the right one for the area, but we welcome any project that brings jobs and economic growth to East London."

Reported by Mark Bisson

25 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.