The American entertainment company that had been backing a 21,500 capacity Sphere venue in East London has dropped the project, claiming it became a “political ball” between the London mayor and the London government.
Sphere Entertainment withdrew its application to build the “glowing Orb” near Stratford’s Olympic Park, claiming that the planning process had become a turf battle between Sadiq Khalifa and Michael Gove.
The 300ft high structure was to be a venue for entertainment, sports, and concerts, with “immersive”, advanced sound and lighting technology. It would also include the largest and highest resolution LED screen in the world.
Khan decided in November that the location “would have an unacceptable negative effect on local residents”. Gove announced last month that he would use his “call-in” powers to review the mayor’s ruling.
James Dolan, who is the billionaire leader of the Madison Square Garden Group, said that he was frustrated by what he called political interference. “We thought we submitted a very well-written application, which received support from the right places and followed the government process. The mayor hijacked the process, and turned it into a political issue.
Matt Hancock was then the Culture Secretary at the time and he also backed the Sphere.
Campaigners, however, claimed that the glare of LEDs was disruptive and potentially dangerous. Labour’s mayor stated in November that this venue would “significantly light up the surrounding properties and harm the health of people, as well as the general amenity of residents in their homes”.
Dolan said that the Labour mayor rejected the Sphere not “on the merits of the application”, but “because the government supported it”. “I don’t believe he took into account the public interest in any way.” We became a political football. It was all about what he wanted.
He was concerned Gove’s interventions “looked more political to us”, and added that “there are many cities who want the product we are currently in discussion with”.
Dolan, who is 68 and whose group controls the New York Knicks and Madison Square Garden in New York, as well as Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, has said that other investors from overseas may be “dissuaded”, from investing in Britain, where “government participation” is required.
When asked if the group would be interested in returning to London, he responded: “No. We’re done.”
Richard Constable of MSG Entertainment wrote in a letter addressed to the Planning Inspectorate of the Government: “After investing millions of pounds to acquire our site in Stratford, and engaging in a collaborative planning process for five years with many governmental agencies, including the local planning authorities, who approved our plan after careful review, we cannot continue to take part in a process which is merely a game of political football between opposing parties.”
The UK’s Competition Watchdog was compared to a “chihuahua”, a small, aggressive dog, when it stopped the recent tie-up of Adobe and Figma, which would have brought in $20 billion.
A spokeswoman from the mayor’s office said that he had “seen independent evidence” showing the proposals would have an unacceptable negative effect on the local residents. The government refused to comment.