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Friday, June 28, 2024 | 2 a.m.
The National Hockey League’s annual entry draft hasn’t been known to be a spectacle.
Most reiterations of the event have taken place in a dimly lit arena with general manager after general manager taking the stage to read off which prospect his team will select.
It’s a shining, memorable moment for the player who gets his name called, but to those in the venue and those watching on television, the process becomes repetitive and mundane.
In what could be the league’s final centralized draft, the NHL is taking a risk and doing something no professional sports league has previously done.
The Sphere at 4 p.m. today and 8:30 a.m. Saturday will play host to its first-ever sports event with the 2024 NHL entry draft. The league, starting next year, says it will no longer throw a draft event and require franchises to send representatives to one city. Instead, team executives will make their picks from their own team headquarters.
The dome-shaped venue, covered in 580,000 square feet of LED displays on its exterior, has been a fixture of the Las Vegas skyline for almost a year. Its 18,600-seat interior provides an ultramodern visual and audio experience on a 160,000-square-foot LED screen.
It’s hosted multiple concerts — including U2, Phish and Dead & Company — but never a sporting event.
“People are going to tune in and have the curiosity of it being the first sporting event in the Sphere,” said Steve Mayer, the NHL’s chief content officer. “It doesn’t have to be a hockey fan who’s going to tune in. I do think we’re going to get all sports fans to watch.”
The league’s journey to the Sphere began 280 miles away at MSG Sphere Studios in Burbank, Calif., otherwise known as “mini-Sphere.”
It’s where all Sphere’s visuals are tested before putting them on the big screen in Las Vegas. And it’s where the NHL did its dry run for this week.
“Our Sphere Studios team is composed of some of the most innovative minds,” said Joel Fisher, the executive vice president of marquee events and operations for MSG Entertainment. “They have worked together with the NHL to reimagine the draft as an immersive experience – inside and outside the venue, in Las Vegas and for those watching around the world – as only Sphere can do.”
The experience won’t be limited to the interior screen. Sphere’s creative team will have unique visuals displayed on the Exosphere, which can be seen up and down the Strip.
Its atrium entrance is also being utilized, displaying multiple lighting schemes and graphics on the walls. Fans will be immersed in the experience as soon as they walk through the door, officials promise.
They aren’t disclosing specifics on how the visual and audio experience will look and feel, saying it will be a surprise for those attending.
“There will be plenty of excitement on both the interior and exterior screens to celebrate their special moment,” Fisher said. “The draft is always a special moment for the players, and we know that this year’s draft, at the most immersive and innovative venue in the world, will be something these players remember forever.”
Tickets start at $47 for today’s first round; $27 for Saturday.
“This is a really cool thing that only Vegas can do,” said Lisa Motley, vice president of sports and special events for the Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authority. “We’re a category of one. We’re the only ones who have these great buildings and facilities that nobody can compete with.”
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