L.A. Live
L.A. Live, (also popularly called Times Square West, and The Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment District) is currently under construction in Downtown Los Angeles, California. Adjacent to the Staples Center (home of the Lakers, Clippers, Kings, Sparks, and Avengers sports teams), L.A. Live is slated to cost approximately USD $2.5 billion to be paid by owner Anschutz Entertainment Group, Wachovia Corp. and investment firm MacFarlane Partners with help from Los Angeles taxpayers. It will feature six city blocks of apartments, ballrooms, bars, concert theaters, condominiums, restaurants, movie theaters and a hotel. This project will move the downtown skyline and center of activity further South.
The multi-faceted entertainment destination will feature entertainment venues, restaurants, retail commercial and residential spaces, television and radio broadcast studios, and concert spaces. Highlights of the district will include a 54-story tower housing two hotels and serviced residences (under the JW Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and Residences At The Ritz-Carlton brands), a 40,000 ft² outdoor plaza, an ESPN broadcast and restaurant facility, Regal Theatres, as well as Club Nokia, the Nokia Theatre Los Angeles, and Nokia Plaza.
Features
Nokia Plaza
Nokia Plaza is a 40,000 ft² open-air plaza that will serve as the central meeting place for L.A. Live. The Plaza will serve as one of the district's key anchors, providing a broadcast venue featuring giant LED screens as well as a red carpet site for special events. The Nokia venues will be part of the "Nokia Unwired" marketing platform, which will bring live music to fans in both the Nokia venues and through "Nokia Presents Hard Rock Live" on MTV.
Architects and designers were inspired to create a district featuring the same amount of flashiness prominent at Times Square in New York City and the Ginza District of Tokyo.
Nokia Theatre
Nokia Theatre Los Angeles is a premier mid-sized music and theatre venue featuring state-of-the-art acoustics and seating for 7,100. The Theatre will host the Latin Grammy Awards and ESPY Awards, as well as numerous other productions from VH1, MTV, and BET. It is also available for corporate shareholder meetings, product launches, and seminars. Club Nokia will be a club for live music and cultural events. The stand-alone club, which will accommodate up to 2,400 patrons, will feature up and coming music acts, bands, and cultural shows. The club may also be used to host private parties and corporate events.
The first scheduled event held at Nokia Theatre was a concert featuring the Eagles and the the Dixie Chicks on October 18, 2007. Other events already booked include the American Music Awards on November 18, the local stop on the tour for So You Think You Can Dance on November 21,[1][2] and on Dec. 10[3], the tour finale of the Los Angeles-based, prog metal band, Tool[4]
On March 11, 2008, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced with Anschutz that the venue will be the home to the Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony from 2008 until at least 2018, [5]. On the same day, Ryan Seacrest announced on American Idol that the seventh season finale will use the Nokia as their venue, after many years at the Kodak Theatre.
Grammy Museum
On May 8, 2007, it was announced that the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences will place a museum dedicated to the history of the Grammy Awards in this area. The Grammys are now held annually at Staples Center.[6]
ESPN West Coast Headquarters
ESPN Network is scheduled to move into the broadcast center once the second phase of development is completed in late 2009. A state-of-the-art studio and an ESPN Zone restaurant is scheduled for inclusion in the building on the corner of Figueroa and 11th.[1]
An additional broadcasting center is planned to accommodate national and local entertainment coverage, including ABC sports, news and music broadcasts. [7]
J.W. Marriott/Ritz Carlton Hotel and Residences
The centerpiece of the district will be the tower, a 54 story, 1,001 room two-hotel hybrid constructed above the parking lot directly north of the Staples Center. The hotels, to be operated as the 654-room JW Marriott Los Angeles on the first 24 floors and the 123-room Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles above (crowned by the 224-unit Residences At The Ritz-Carlton), are expected to bring the Los Angeles Convention Center a significant increase of reservations, mainly due to the solution of the existing problem of a lack of nearby hotels to serve convention visitors. The tower was delayed for a time, but local homebuilder KB Home recently signed an agreement to help build the hotel, thus construction has also begun on the hotel.
Herbalife Headquarters/Office Space
Office space is to be created for AEG, and Herbalife is slated to move its Headquartes to L.A. Live.[8]
Timeline
Construction began on 15 September 2005. The district is expected to revive Downtown Los Angeles and help it compete with San Diego and San Francisco for convention center business.
The first phase was completed on October 18th, 2007. Phase one contains the Nokia Theatre, the Nokia Plaza, a retail plaza, as well as an underground parking garage, holding a fraction of the project's expected total of 4,000 parking spaces.
| Phase | Phase description | Scheduled Opening |
|---|---|---|
| PHASE 1 | 7,000-seat Nokia Theater and Nokia Plaza | Completed [9] |
| PHASE 2 | ESPN studios and ESPN Zone restaurant/arcade complex, restaurants, Grammy Museum, Club Nokia, Lucky Strike bowling alley, and The Conga Room | October 2008 [10] |
| FINAL PHASE | 54-story Ritz-Carlton/JW Marriott hotel and the 14-screen West Coast flagship theatre multiplex operated by Regal Cinemas | Late 2009 [11] |
See also
References
- ^ Greg Johnson, ESPN is on schedule to land in L.A. in 2009, Los Angeles Times, December 18, 2007.