{"id":260177,"date":"2023-02-16T09:13:56","date_gmt":"2023-02-16T15:13:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=260177"},"modified":"2023-02-18T18:08:29","modified_gmt":"2023-02-19T00:08:29","slug":"u2-to-earn-unheard-of-payday-for-las-vegas-residency-according-to-report-naming-opening-date","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/u2-to-earn-unheard-of-payday-for-las-vegas-residency-according-to-report-naming-opening-date\/","title":{"rendered":"U2 to Earn Unheard-Of Payday for Las Vegas Residency, Opening Date Set – Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Billionaire entertainment mogul James Dolan, chair of Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: MSGE), is taking heat for the payday he’s reportedly agreed to lavish upon U2 for opening his MSG Sphere in Las Vegas this fall. The Irish band\u2019s commitment was finally announced via a Super Bowl commercial<\/a>\u00a0on Sunday, after being teased since July 2022.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"U2\"
U2 will open the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas with a residency whose cost is “stoking anxiety” in the ranks of the venue’s owner, according to a new report. (Image: AFP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to a New York Post<\/em> report quoting unnamed \u201csources close to the situation,\u201d the Irish rock band will receive $10M for producing and performing a dozen concerts at the 17,500-seat, balloon-shaped arena still under construction behind the Venetian resort. That may not seem like a lot these days, but it\u2019s on top of<\/em> the 90% of ticket sales U2 will earn for its 12-show residency.<\/p>\n

The<\/em> Post\u2019s<\/em> report is also the first to speculate on a kick-off date for the residency, which will also open the venue: Friday, Sept. 29, 2023.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dolan\u2019s unprecedented investment in U2 is \u201cstoking anxiety\u201d within his company, according to The Post. <\/em>The outlet was also the first to report that Dolan dismissed two top MSG Sphere execs<\/a> earlier this week, naming himself president following the housecleaning.<\/p>\n

Though it may not seem like it to longtime fans, U2 last cracked the US Top 10 a whopping 31 years ago. That’s when its single, \u201cOne,\u201d reached No. 10 on the charts.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for MSG Entertainment issued a rebuke to The Post<\/em>\u2019s assertions, telling the newspaper: \u201cWithout getting into specifics, we are very confident in the investment we made with U2 as the opening performer for the Sphere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pride (in the Name of Cash)<\/h2>\n

Adding fuel to the fire, MSG Entertainment CFO David Byrnes admitted on a conference call last week that the venue still hasn\u2019t found any corporate sponsors. This includes the big one MSG Sphere seeks \u2013 a company willing to pay $50M to have the Sphere named after it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not good, as the whole idea is that cash from sponsors will offset losses from deals given to A-list acts like U2 to produce their pricey shows,\u201d the newspaper reported.<\/p>\n

\n

And the pressure is mounting, according to The Post.<\/em> The construction budget for the high-tech venue has nearly doubled, to $2.2B, since the project was announced three years ago \u2013 mostly due to inflation and pandemic-related delays. A $275 million loan to finish the job was secured from JPMorgan in December.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Also likely to be a huge expense is a long-term lease for parking. According to The Post,<\/em> negotiations are underway with Wynn Resorts for a nearby parcel. However, as the newspaper noted, long-term leases for adjacent parking are usually secured as one of the first steps in construction.<\/p>\n

Still Haven’t Found Other Acts They’re Looking For<\/h2>\n

Though the venue stated that it plans on booking between four and six concert residencies per year, only U2 has been announced so far. According to The Post<\/em>, that\u2019s because of another unforeseen problem: no other ginormous acts are interested. They don\u2019t want to produce splashy visual spectacles that could overpower their music, and<\/em> that wouldn\u2019t be transferable to other venues afterward, The Post<\/em> quoted its sources as saying.<\/p>\n

\n

According to The Post, <\/em>this is one of the reasons Dolan had planned on partnering with Irving Azoff on the Sphere. But the powerhouse manager of the Eagles, Harry Styles, and John Mayer instead chose to partner with LA-based developers the Oak View Group to build a competing arena as part of a $3B entertainment district<\/a> south of the Las Vegas Strip at Blue Diamond.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

According to the Post,<\/em> Azoff is still a Sphere consultant who is assisting in the search, despite the apparent conflict of interest.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very happy with the level of conversations we are having with artists and are far along in those discussions and negotiations,\u201d the MSGE spokesperson said. \u201cWe will be announcing future performers at the appropriate time,\u201d<\/p>\n

With or Without Larry<\/h2>\n

Not only is MSG Sphere taking heat for its deep-pocketed commitment to U2, the band is taking heat from its core fan base for accepting it. That\u2019s because it will now have to play its residency with a substitute drummer. Larry Mullen, Jr. will be recovering from surgery on his neck and elbows for at least the remainder of 2023.<\/a><\/p>\n

Drumming with U2 will be Bram van den Berg, a virtually unknown musician from the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is ridiculous! Larry Mullen Jr. started<\/em> the band,\u201d said YouTube music influencer Rick Beato Wednesday in a YouTube rant he titled: \u201cDear U2, What are You Thinking?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Via a press statement from MSG, U2 members Bono, The Edge, and Adam Clayton said: \u201cIt’s going to take all we’ve got to approach the Sphere without our bandmate in the drum seat, but Larry has joined us in welcoming Bram van den Berg, who is a force in his own right.<\/p>\n

The Sphere show has been in the works for a long time,” U2’s statement continued. “We don\u2019t want to let people down, least of all our audience \u2026 bottom line, U2 hasn\u2019t played live since December 2019 and we need to get back on stage and see the faces of our fans again.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Billionaire entertainment mogul James Dolan, chair of Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: MSGE), is taking heat for the payday he’s reportedly agreed to lavish upon U2 for opening his MSG Sphere in Las Vegas this fall. The Irish band\u2019s commitment was finally announced via a Super Bowl commercial\u00a0on Sunday, after being teased since July […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":260178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3313,81886],"tags":[85066,85030,23,84381,81969,82132,81968],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nU2 to Earn Unheard-Of Payday for Las Vegas Residency, Opening Date Set - Report - Casino.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Billionaire entertainment mogul James Dolan, chair of Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. 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