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New details emerge on proposed $1B Sphere at National Harbor

President Donald Trump's proposed triumphal arch would be 250 feet tall. WTOP's Sandy Kozel reports the proposed Sphere near National Harbor would rise taller than that.
File rendering of the National Harbor Sphere. (Courtesy Sphere Entertainment)

New details are coming out about the proposed Sphere entertainment venue near National Harbor as the project’s developers continue working through the approval process with Prince George’s County, Maryland, officials.

The proposed $1 billion National Harbor Sphere would stand 302 feet tall, making it larger than President Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot-tall triumphal arch in D.C., .

“Hopefully that height definitely stays a little bit more consistent and does not try to eclipse some of the biggest buildings in the region,” Ziegler told WTOP. “That would have just been insane, almost double the height of the MGM National Harbor building.”

The planned Sphere site is about four miles from Reagan National Airport, meaning the Federal Aviation Administration would likely have a role in reviewing the project.

Ziegler said the proposed height includes, “the sea level of MGM, plus the actual height of the MGM National Harbor Building.”

The venue would be built on more than 14 acres just north of MGM National Harbor and would seat about 6,000 people, significantly smaller than the flagship Sphere in Las Vegas, which stands 366 feet tall and seats 18,000.

The project remains in the pre-application phase with the Prince George’s County Planning Department.

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Sandy Kozel

Sandy Kozel is an anchor at WTOP. She came to WTOP after a long career as an anchor/correspondent with the Associated Press. She also worked in local radio in the Cleveland area — and in Buffalo, where she was an award-winning anchor and reporter with WGR Radio and entertainment reporter at WGRZ-TV.

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