FAA Scrutinizes Proposed 300-Foot National Harbor Sphere Near Reagan National Airport

Newly disclosed planning documents shed new details on what the developers behind the proposed Sphere at MGM National Harbor hope to build. The scope of the project is raising eyebrows with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Pre-application materials filed with the Prince George’s County Planning Department suggest that New York-based Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. wants to invest $1 billion to bring a scaled-down version of the Las Vegas Sphere to the MGM National Harbor. The casino resort is located in Oxon Hill, Md., just across the Potomac River from Washington, DC.

The early blueprint for the 6,000-seat immersive entertainment venue specifies that the Sphere would stand 480 feet above the Potomac, with the actual structure measuring 302 feet tall and the elevation of Oxon Hill sitting at 170 feet above sea level.

The National Harbor Sphere, despite being smaller in actual size and audience capacity, would actually be taller than the Sphere in Las Vegas. The off-Strip entertainment venue in Southern Nevada stands 366 feet from the desert.

The National Harbor Sphere is to occupy 14 acres between MGM National Harbor and Monument Avenue.

Reagan Airport Concerns

The National Harbor Sphere site, directly north of the MGM property, is less than 3.5 air miles from Ronald Reagan National Airport, or DCA.

More critically, the Sphere is being developed about a mile east of the flight path that the majority of planes arriving at DCA take to land. It’s the flight path that American Airlines 5342 was on when it collided mid-air with a United States Army helicopter over the Potomac River. The tragic accident killed all 64 passengers and crew aboard the aircraft and the three military servicemembers flying the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk.

The Sphere plan is being reviewed by the FAA, federal officials confirmed.

“Under federal law, developers must give the FAA the opportunity to evaluate proposed structures near airports to determine whether they could pose a hazard to aircraft or interfere with navigation aids,” the FAA said in a statement. “If the FAA determines the structure height would be a presumed hazard, we try to negotiate a lower height with the developer.”

Federal law requires that real estate developers allow the FAA to review height plans for projects located near airports. FAA recommendations are not legally binding, though planning boards often adhere to the federal agency’s determinations.

Sphere Details

Maryland and Prince George’s County are assisting Madison Square Garden Entertainment in bringing a Sphere to National Harbor with $200 million in incentives. Analysts at Ernst & Young (EY) project that the entertainment venue will generate $63 million a year in new county tax revenue and $65 million in state taxes.

EY estimates that the county would see a $1.6 billion economic impact during construction and a $1.3 billion annual impact thereafter. The Sphere would create 7,100 full- and part-time jobs, with 1,250 direct employees of the entertainment facility.