LOS ANGELES — The power of screens is undeniable, but the wonder they used to inspire has dulled with time.
High-resolution displays have become omnipresent. Like Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s oval-shaped video board, jumbotrons continue to get larger and more elaborate. Even movie theaters — the first place most people were captivated by a larger-than-life screen — have shifted their focus to craft food menus and cushy seats to impress visitors.
In their ubiquity, it’s become hard for a screen to make an impression. But Cosm, the self-proclaimed “immersive experience” coming to downtown Atlanta, aims to reawaken that awe by offering a new way to watch sports and other live events.
“You look to your left, you look to your right, and it truly feels like you’re transported there, sitting in the stands,” Corey Breton, Cosm’s head of venues, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Credit: Courtesy Cosm
Credit: Courtesy Cosm
Cosm signed a lease to be the centerpiece of the entertainment district at Centennial Yards, the $5 billion redevelopment of Atlanta’s Gulch between the Five Points MARTA Station and Mercedes-Benz Stadium. With current locations in Los Angeles and Dallas, Cosm’s main attraction is an 87-foot diameter LED dome powered by the same technology used in planetariums, projecting sports stars on a cosmic scale.
An AJC reporter visited Cosm in Los Angeles at Hollywood Park near SoFi Stadium and Intuit Dome to watch a screening of the Nov. 22 NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets. Beyond live sports, Cosm’s other events include Cirque du Soleil performances and art showcases.
The NBA game was broadcast through cameras placed throughout Denver’s arena, switching between angles that offered courtside views and wide shots of the action. Cameras attached to the backboard would viscerally shake whenever a player dunked.
It’s easy to imagine the reaction of an Atlanta crowd watching Hawks’ point guard Trae Young drain a three-pointer or Falcons’ running back Bijan Robinson dive for the end zone during a Cosm broadcast. Upon seeing one of Cosm’s domes light up for the first time, Centennial Yards President Brian McGowan said he instantly knew the concept would complement downtown’s roster of entertainment options.
“Because it is so unique and such an amazing experience, we know it’s going to draw people from throughout the region to Centennial Yards,” he said.
Credit: Courtesy Gensler
Credit: Courtesy Gensler
‘Flip a planetarium’
Cosm venues may be new, but its corporate roots date back 75 years.
The company’s progenitor is Evans & Sutherland, the world’s largest planetarium company with its technology in roughly 700 locations across the globe. Investment firm Mirasol Capital purchased E&S in 2020 for $14.5 million, and later acquired LiveLike VR and C360 to integrate their production capabilities and camera technology.
The resulting company was Cosm, whose name is a mix of cosmos and colosseum.
Credit: Courtesy photo/Cosm
Credit: Courtesy photo/Cosm
“Planetariums were the first immersive experience, because they transported you to space,” Breton said. “So all we did is flip a planetarium on its side.”
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
The Sphere venue in Las Vegas is Cosm’s closest contemporary, offering a mammoth domed screen that successfully stands out among Sin City’s neon skyline. But Cosm leaders see advantage in their ability to open new locations in stadium-adjacent entertainment districts across major cities, with Atlanta and Detroit on deck.
Announced in July, the 70,000-square-foot Centennial Yards location is expected to finish construction in 2026. It’s the cornerstone of the project’s 8-acre entertainment district, which includes a separate 5,000-seat arena, a 14-story hotel, a two-story retail and restaurant building and a large plaza.
Breton and McGowan said they aim to open before Atlanta hosts the World Cup in 2026, although that is a tight deadline to meet. McGowan was confident it will be open by January 2027 at the latest.
Seven bars, endless screens
Cosm’s core is its dome, but that’s only a portion of what’s in the building.
The Los Angeles location features seven bars, an on-site kitchen, a rooftop patio and several lounges and viewing halls that boast their own fleet of screens. Employees also periodically visit seats to take drink and food orders.
Credit: Courtesy Cosm
Credit: Courtesy Cosm
The food menu, which Breton said includes everything made in-house except for ketchup, offered tavern staples like pretzel sticks and smash burgers alongside some locally influenced options. In California, that includes Korean corn cheese nachos and LA street dogs.
“Atlanta will be very similar, tapping into the Southeast with a focus on Atlanta and downtown,” Breton said of the menu.
Credit: Courtesy Cosm
Credit: Courtesy Cosm
The dome has a 1,500-seat capacity, including reserved seats that range in price. The AJC reporter’s NBA seats were priced at $110 each. General admission, which doesn’t include a reserved seat, usually costs $11 to $22, according to multiple events on Cosm’s website.
Locations offer three ticketed events per day, and sports programming is localized by market. Cosm typically broadcasts away games for its hometown teams or acts as counterprogramming when those teams are playing at home. (The Los Angeles Clippers played Nov. 22 but were at home, hence the Mavericks and Nuggets matchup.)
With Mercedes-Benz Stadium and State Farm Arena adjacent to Centennial Yards, McGowan said Cosm will expand the horizons of Atlanta’s entertainment offerings.
“It’s not just coming down and buying a sports jersey or having a meal. (Centennial Yards) is more than that,” he said. “You’ll have a great experience doing something you’ve never done before, so Cosm fits perfectly.”
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