Sphere Hosts Its First Corporate Event, For HPE’s Discover Conference

June 19, 2024 by Dave Haynes

This would have cost a couple of bucks …

The Sphere in Las Vegas has so far been used by a series of beloved baby boomer rock bands for concerts, and also as a high-end cinema running a film shot specifically for the venue. But it was only a matter of time before some deep-pocketed tech brand used the venue for a corporate event.

That happened yesterday – with a keynote presentation for Hewlett Packard Enterprise, as the big moment at its Discover conference.

The visuals were pulled together by Sphere’s in-house creative and AV teams.

AVIXA, as a lot of InfoComm attendees will know, also had a corporate event at Sphere last week, but the notable distinction is that was a party, and the “show” on the giant screen was the movie that the public can also watch.

It’s kind of interesting to see what can be done on a budget that would have been substantial, but nothing like the multi-day stuff done for U2, Phish and Dead & Company (Grateful Dead). The venue is amazing, but it reminds me of being in the nosebleeds of the old Kingdome in Seattle, watching the NCAA Final Four. The presenters look like ants.

Big Wow Factor, though. The Eagles, by the way, are the next act set up for a residency. Why all the acts for older folks? They have no mortgages and disposable income, and can afford tickets are not cheap, or Las Vegas getaways that are anything but cheap these days.