Skift Take

MGM Resorts is building its own “Dubai Sphere.” Though not linked to the Las Vegas Sphere, the hotelier says it will be just as exciting.

Josh Corder

Another ‘Sphere’ is landing on Earth, this time in Dubai. MGM Resorts is building its own “Dubai Sphere”, promised by CEO and president Bill Hornbuckle to be “equally compelling as the Las Vegas Sphere.”

MGM Resorts’ $2 billion project in Dubai has been in flux since 2017. It was announced and approved by the emirate’s ruler, but has seen little progress over the years. It was only this year that the construction contract was awarded for the development. It includes three MGM Resorts brands in MGM, Bellagio and Aria with a Sphere sitting in the middle.

Hornbuckle said on stage Thursday at the Skift Global Forum: “[In Dubai] there will be three properties sitting on a large podium and in the middle of it is a sphere. Not as big as the sphere in Las Vegas by any stretch but equally compelling. It has 300 seats with a mini showroom and the visual things you’d obviously do inside a sphere.”

“It’ll have a show line that walks through the history of Dubai. The first time I went, I thought [Dubai] was Las Vegas on steroids,” said Hornbuckle. “In 1985 it was desert and literally 35 years later it’s this ‘megatropolis’ with three million people. We’re going to tell that story.”

The Dubai iteration of the sphere would be smaller than the venue in Sin City in terms of capacity. Original plans for Dubai Sphere described it as being part of a 110-meter-high entertainment tower located in the center of the complex, offering 3D light and sound effects shows for up to 300 guests at a time. The Sphere in Vegas is 112 meters tall but with a much larger capacity of 18,600 seats.

Hornbuckle clarified that the Dubai Sphere is not a part of Sphere Entertainment, the company behind the Las Vegas Sphere. Right now, MGM is doing the venue itself but would be open to finding a partner later down the line.

Execs at Sphere Entertainment have said previously they’d license a smaller space if it meant growing the global footprint. MSG executive chair and CEO Dolan told Variety last year it was “definitely a big part of the business plan, to build more Spheres all over the world”. “And by the way, different-size ones too – probably not much bigger than the one in Vegas, but we’ve actually gone through already architectural drawings and designs for smaller Spheres for smaller markets.”

Progress in Dubai

The MGM Resorts project in Dubai has no opening date, but Hornbuckle said on-stage that progress is being made. It’s currently a non-gaming complex, but those plans could change. Speaking about the potential of a casino license for Dubai, he said the cultural shift in the country has already happened.

“Once you get there and gaming is socially accepted – not for Emiratis by the way – but 80-90% of the [UAE] population are non-Emirati. India is a massive market, the rest of the Middle East could be massive, China will continue to come to Dubai, so we’re excited by what it presents and we hope to be there.”

“We ended up in Dubai with a non-gaming hotel project – a large one – worth over $2 billion with an MGM, Bellagio, and an Aria. It has several podiums which in fact, [is where] Dubai wants gaming.”

An MGM spokesperson clarified after Hornbuckle’s comments: “There is no declaration or announcement of gaming [for Dubai], we’re just hoping that as the region starts to open up to gaming, it becomes a possibility, but we’ve only bid on gaming for Abu Dhabi.”

Wasl is the partner for the MGM in Dubai, a major hotel owner and developer in the city with close ties to the government. Hornbuckle said this week the group has applied for a casino license in Abu Dhabi.