Maryland is a big step closer to getting its own Sphere. The Prince George's County Council voted unanimously on Monday to advance a financing plan for the proposed $1.4 billion immersive entertainment venue at National Harbor — a 6,000-seat spherical giant modeled on the one lighting up the Las Vegas skyline.
A $215 million bond package clears a major hurdle
The council's vote centers on authorizing up to $215 million in special obligation bonds to move the project forward and refinance existing National Harbor debt. The bonds would be repaid through designated tax revenues tied to the development itself. Of that, $130 million would flow to the Sphere through tax-increment financing — the county borrows now and repays with future tax revenue generated within the National Harbor Development District.
This comes on top of a $200 million tax-incentive package the county approved in July by designating the National Harbor Extraordinary Development District. The proposed venue would occupy a 15-acre campus just north of MGM National Harbor, hosting concerts, films and other events on a 16K display with immersive sound and an exterior LED screen.
Big numbers — and big questions
County projections put the payoff at $63 million in annual tax revenue and thousands of jobs. Sphere Entertainment estimates $1.3 billion in annual economic activity within the county and $1.5 billion statewide. County Executive Aisha Braveboy says the venue would open doors for local small and minority-owned businesses, with at least 50 percent of construction jobs reserved for county and minority-owned contractors — the largest such share of any major project in county history.
But county legislative staff have flagged the other side of the ledger: the $130 million in proposed tax-increment borrowing would require roughly $400 million in principal and debt-service payments through 2056, plus a $40 million county-owned parking garage, with police, fire, road and electrical infrastructure costs still uncalculated.
The labor fight is not over
The one thing Monday's vote did not resolve is the bitter dispute over who builds the venue. Labor unions are demanding a binding project labor agreement — enforceable wage and working-condition standards for construction workers. Sphere Entertainment has rejected a project-wide labor agreement, while Braveboy's administration announced a "labor peace agreement" that would cover only operations after the venue opens, leaving unions unsatisfied.
Council Chair Krystal Oriadha has pressed the company's executives hard — accusing one at a tense hearing of offending county residents with his tone — and negotiations continue. A final council vote is expected by the end of October. The target timeline: site work this December, vertical construction in mid-2027, and a 2030 opening.
The takeaway: the money is moving and the venue is closer to reality than ever — but until the labor battle is settled, the biggest question about the National Harbor Sphere isn't what it will look like, but who gets to build it.
Watch: Prince George's County Council unanimously agrees on Sphere venue financing plan
Music in our reel: Kevin MacLeod - Life of Riley (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0