The Iconic Times Square NYE Ball Has Retired Due To Its Outdated Lighting System
The iconic Times Square’s New Year’s Eve ball that we all just watched to ring in 2025 is the same one that has been dazzling not just New Yorkers but people all over the world for the past 17 years. Though all things must eventually come to an end, and the same rings true for this iconic ball.
On Wednesday, January 15th, the ball dropped for one final time at 3 pm. It was finally retired due to its “antiquated” lighting system, as reported by the New York Times, and a replacement ball is already in production. But Times Square still shines bright even in the absence of the ball–nearly 100 billboards transform into a digital art gallery just before midnight each day!
First soaring to great heights over Times Square in 2008, the 12,000 pound, 12-foot-wide ball has 2,688 glittering Waterford Crystal triangles attached to its facade. Nearly 700 LED modules are able to display a palette of more than 16 million colors. This was the eighth ball to be used in Times Square’s New Year’s Eve festivities.
So for those of you who were able to grab free crystals straight from the ball back in December, just know you now own a piece of history!
The good news is that the ball hasn’t exactly reached the end of its life–it will join several other historical balls (which have been tucked away in a Times Square basement) on display in a new “Time Travel History Experience” spanning four floors inside the newly revamped One Times Square. One ball even dates back to the mid-1950s! The experience opens this fall, and a sneak peak of what you can expect can be seen below:
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And don’t worry, this is not the end of the iconic ball drop! A new ball and new numerals will be ready for next year’s New Year’s Eve celebrations.
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