The Sphere music venue, a proposed location in Stratford by Madison Square Garden (MSG), was rejected by London Mayor Sadiq Khan last month. The venue would have been modeled after the Las Vegas venue of the same name and consisted of over 1 million LED lights and bright advertisements on its exterior. The Sphere in London was first proposed in 2018 but has faced opposition from locals.
Now, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing, and communities, Michael Gove, has ordered a six-week pause to consider calling in the Mayor’s decision. Gove’s department plans to instruct Khan not to scrap planning proposals in a written letter to the London Legacy Development Corporation. The letter asks for Khan to “consider whether he should direct under section 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act that the application should be referred to him for determination.”
In response, MSG has released a statement that reads “The entire five-year planning process was hijacked by the mayor and his bogus last-minute report. Londoners should be dismayed that they are not going to benefit from this groundbreaking project, and others looking to invest in London should certainly be wary. Moreso, everyone should be alarmed by how easily the government’s established process was tossed aside by one politically motivated official. Mr Gove’s action, although commendable, still appears to us to be more of the same, and we cannot continue to participate in a process that can be so easily undermined by political winds. As we said previously, we will focus on the many forward-thinking cities.”
MSG has stated that they are no longer interested in the London location and will look to other cities instead. MSG’s Sphere in Las Vegas has reportedly lost $98.4 million since opening. Mixmag has reached out to Sadiq Khan and MSG for a statement
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