Exclusive | Is going to Sphere when visiting Las Vegas worth it?

I recently experienced something fairly common during a large-scale conference: I was invited to too many evening events.At professional Sin City get-togethers, outside of the conference itself, there are all sorts of other networking, eating, drinking, or just have-some-fun activities typically hosted by companies who invite representatives of groups they are working with or wish to work with someday.When the conference is in a place like Las Vegas, the entertaining opportunities expand exponentially.Basically, it’s the best kind of problem a person could possibly have.Still, I’ve wanted to see what Sphere is all about since the groundbreaking venue opened in September 2023.

To me, it seemed like a wonderful visual expansion of what a concert experience could be.A few weeks ahead of my event in Las Vegas, I was ecstatic to have received an invite to an evening at Sphere, but plot twist! I had already made dinner plans that same night.

So, I sat on the Sphere offer, in this case to see ‘V-U2 An Immersive Concert Film,’ while I mulled over whether I could or should change my meal plans or simply try to do both.Ultimately, I decided to embrace the wild ride that is Las Vegas and accepted the invitation to Sphere.I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see this one-of-a-kind live event space.

I infrequently go to Vegas and my visits are typically just for this annual conference, and, as I alluded to, it’s always a busy jam-packed time. The concert doors opened at 7, though the show, according to Sphere staff, wouldn’t begin until 7:45.Meanwhile, my dinner at the Bellagio was at 8.

I figured the maximum acceptable time to be late to a large group dinner was 20 minutes (my logic based on the 15-minute grace period a restaurant typically allows reservations, but with a group dinner, many guests would already be there and maybe 20 minutes in, if lucky, family-style appetizers are on the table and a drink is quick to order since the bar has likely already a...