I must admit that I was a tad disappointed to hear, a week or two ago, that a massive new spherical arena will not be built in Stratford. Mayor Of London Sadiq Kahn apparently vetoed the idea of a MSG arena being created there, mostly because it would cause too much light pollution. I suppose I can see his point: they propose building it on a deserted, unused car park near the station. I pass it every time I go up there. It’s surrounded by railway tracks and buildings, and it’s hard to see anything being built there because it would be so difficult to access. Putting a colossal entertainment venue there would seem rather odd.

But then, part of me thinks it could be awesome. I just came across this video about the recently opened Sphere in Las Vegas, and I couldn’t help being blown away. There, it’s a massive glittering golf ball in the desert, visible across the city. It will no doubt be hosting era defining concerts and mega events for years. Wouldn’t having a similar venue here in London have been cool? Obviously, as I wrote here when I first heard about it, you can point out that East London already has a perfectly good event venue in the O2 at North Greenwich; and even if they build it, the new arena would be surrounded by buildings so it would be nowhere near as visible as the sphere in Vegas. The LED display on the outside of the globe just wouldn’t have the same impact.

Even so, I still think it could be incredible. This second dome may well complement the first one, four stops down the Jubilee line. Surely rejecting this idea would mean London missing out on something awesome. Any reservations aside, at the end of the day leaving that space as it is, a disused car park which nobody can get to, would just be a total waste; and simply using it for yet more housing strikes me as extremely boring and uninspired. At the moment, the decision over whether it will go ahead lies with Michael Gove, so even though Kahn vetoed it the idea isn’t quite dead. Stratford is currently one of the most vibrant areas of the metropolis, and such a new entertainment venue may be the cherry on the cake.