New York Times (06/29/24) Gentille, Sean

The NHL Draft was recently held at the landmark Sphere in Las Vegas, and the live, in-person event has received mostly rave reviews. The 18,600-seat, LED-covered venue is the home of the world's largest and highest-resolution screens. Some wondered how they were going to navigate the building itself, as no other arenas have walls that also double as a 160,000-square-foot screen. Sphere has four main concourses, plus two more along a pair of suite levels that dead-end well before the midpoint. It took most attendees a matter of minutes to walk each from end-to-end. The Draft's dazzling graphic packages followed a certain script. Once a team was on the clock, a 90-second "sizzle reel" ran followed by a 30-second, stylized shot of the city's skyline. Among the transitions between screens mimicked ice building up along the entire screen. The best part of the show for many, though, was the trade announcement screen. It was neither scripted nor timed-out, but ran spontaneously as a live feed.

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