MSG Sphere: Public consultations to begin on UK’s new largest concert venue
The first public consultation for what will be the UK’s largest music venue is set to go ahead next week.
Described by some as looking like a spaceship, the Madison Square Garden Sphere will be 90 metres high and have the appearance of a large black orb.
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Plans submitted with Newham Council show the project, built and owned by the US entertainment and events firm Madison Square Garden (MSG Company), will be located within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford and would display LED advertisements around the surface of the structure.
The first public consultation event is on 16 December and will be overseen by the mayor’s London Legacy Corporation, which is in charge of developing the space around London Stadium.
MSG Company claim the project represents a significant burst of foreign direct investment into the UK from its closest ally.
A London Legacy Corporation spokesperson said: “We have written to over 8000 local residents and emailed over 800 respondents to the first consultation and placed public notices around the site.”
However, the proposed events venue – which would have a capacity of 21,500 – has attracted opposition from some in the local community.
Stop the MSG Sphere argue the sphere’s exterior LED advertisements would create extreme light pollution.
The group also notes that residential homes surround the space where the venue would be built.
Additionally, the campaigners complain the venue would increase congestion through Stratford station.
However, re-submitted documents from MSG to Newham Council now show plans for an extra entrance at the station to resolve this problem.
Stop the MSG Sphere is not the fist campaign group to have taken up arms against the project.
The Newham Action Group raged a campaign against building the new events venue earlier this year.
However, it transpired it was being funded by the owners of the O2 arena – London’s largest concert venue.
The Times reported in June that the owners of the O2, AEG Europe, paid an advertising company to start the campaign against the MSG Sphere – a claim AEG did not deny.
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Jayne McGivern, executive vice president of construction and development at MSG, said: “MSG Sphere would be a wholly new type of venue, delivering a totally unique entertainment experience to London and the whole UK.
“We have put the community at the heart of our plans – committing to delivering good jobs that pay well for local people at a world-class venue that will support the local economy.”