Opponents had expressed concern about traffic and having to install blackout blinds.
In their joint statement, Maryland leaders and the Sphere’s private backers said the venue would be a new landmark in Maryland and would bolster the economy from its home in the National Harbour, a 140ha development of businesses, retail shops and convention spaces along the Potomac River.
The development, in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area, already draws up to 15 million visitors each year.
The Sphere would be “one of the largest economic development projects in Prince George’s County history”, Moore said.
The project is expected to create 2500 jobs during construction and 4750 jobs once it starts operating and generate “millions in additional revenue for the county and state”, the statement said.
It would tap into both public and private funding, including about US$200 million ($344m) in state, local and private incentives.
The statement gave no time frame for the start and projected completion of the Sphere.
The Maryland General Assembly will hold public hearings on the 2027 fiscal year Budget, which includes a US$10m operating grant for the Sphere, Ammar Moussa, a spokesperson for Moore, said yesterday.
There will also be public hearings to advance a county proposal to use TIF proceeds, he said, referring to a public financing method, such as bonds, for proposed development projects that will create additional tax revenues.
State- and county-level permits and zoning requirements would be subject to public review and notification processes, he said.
Aisha Braveboy, the executive of Prince George’s County, said in an interview with NBC News that council members would meet to discuss financing and tax incentives, and that state laws needed to be changed.
“I think that this will make its way through the General Assembly, as well as the County Council, without a hitch,” she said.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Written by: Christine Hauser
Photographs by: Roger Kisby, Kenny Holston
©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
