The 2024 NHL Draft will take place at The Sphere in Las Vegas on June 28-29, the league's board of governors confirmed Tuesday, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.
It'll also mark the final draft before decentralizing, Dreger adds. Each team's key front office members have typically attended the NHL draft, but after 2024, it'll operate similarly to the NFL draft, where each team makes its picks from a remote war room.
The Sphere is a $2.3-billion, 18,600-seat music and entertainment arena located just off of the Las Vegas strip. Its advanced audio and video capabilities, wraparound LED screen, and 4D physical effects have generated attention.
U2 opened with the venue's first concert on Sept. 29.
"I think it'll be a pretty well-viewed event, both in terms of the draft itself and the viral use of The Sphere inside and outside using the globe," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said, according to The Associated Press. "So we think it'll be fun. We think it'll be dramatic and compelling."
NHL drafts have predominately been held inside a team's arena over the last three decades.
