Prince George's County touts National Harbor Sphere as major tourism boost
Prince George’s County says a 6,000-seat Sphere at National Harbor could generate $1.3 billion locally, but the project still hinges on approvals and incentives.
Prince George’s County is betting that a 6,000-seat Sphere at National Harbor can help replace revenue the county says it lost when the Washington Commanders left and Six Flags closed. County Executive Aisha Braveboy said the Sphere revenue would “dwarf” those losses, as county leaders and the state continued to pitch the project as a major tourism and business play for Oxon Hill.
The proposal, announced Jan. 18 by Sphere Entertainment Co., the State of Maryland, Prince George’s County and Peterson Companies, would make National Harbor the second Sphere in the United States and the first built on a smaller-scale design model. The project is backed by about $200 million in state, local and private incentives, but county and state officials have also said any construction, financing and operation still depend on definitive agreements and additional approvals.
County economic materials put hard numbers behind the sales pitch. Prince George’s County says the venue could drive $1.3 billion in economic impact for the county and $1.5 billion statewide, including $200 million outside the county. A county-hosted economic memo estimates construction would generate $1.6 billion in economic impact and support 2,500 construction jobs, while visitor spending would directly support 4,300 jobs in Prince George’s County and 6,000 jobs across Maryland.
The county is also leaning on the scale of what is already there. National Harbor is described by county officials as Prince George’s County’s largest development project, with 7.3 million square feet of space and more than 15 million visitors a year. County materials say the Sphere would be the only one on the East Coast, adding immersive Sphere Experiences, concerts and brand events to a tourism base that already draws large crowds to the waterfront development.
For local leaders, the project is about more than a single venue. In January, Braveboy called it a “world-class win,” while Sphere executive David Granville-Smith said the partnership could deliver a transformative project for the state and region. County and state officials are framing the venue as a sign that Prince George’s County is competing for a bigger share of the entertainment economy, not just warehouse and office development, but the kind of destination attraction that can lift hotel stays, restaurant traffic and event staffing around National Harbor. Still, the timeline risk remains real: until the remaining agreements and approvals are locked in, the Sphere is still more promise than reality.
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