L.A. Live is an entertainment complex in the South Park District of

downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...

, California. It is adjacent to the Crypto.com Arena and the

Los Angeles Convention Center The Los Angeles Convention Center is a convention center located in the southwest section of Downtown Los Angeles, Downtown Los Angeles, California, United States. It hosts multiple annual conventions and has often been used as a filming locat ...

. L.A. Live was developed by

Anschutz Entertainment Group Anschutz Entertainment Group, Inc. (AEG), also known as AEG Worldwide, is an American global sporting and music entertainment presenter and a subsidiary of the Anschutz Corporation. It is the world's largest owner of sports teams and sports ...

(AEG) (which Anschutz is based in and L.A. Live is the flagship of),

Wachovia Wachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo and Company in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States, based on total asset ...

Corp, Azteca Corp, investment firm MacFarlane Partners, and with tax deferments paid by Los Angeles taxpayers. It cost approximately to build. The architectural firm responsible for the master plan and phase two buildings was Baltimore-based

RTKL Associates RTKL was a global architecture, planning and design firm. The firm was founded in 1946 by Archibald C. Rogers and Francis T. Taliaferro in Rogers’ grandmother’s basement in Annapolis and grew to be one of the largest architectural firms in t ...

. With the adjoining Los Angeles Convention Center and Crypto.com Arena, LA Live will be part of the "Downtown Sports Park" cluster for the upcoming

2028 Summer Olympics The 2028 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA 28, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place July 14–30, 2028, in the United States. Los Angeles ...

being held in Los Angeles.

Timeline

Initial construction at L.A. Live began in September 2005. The first phase opened in October 2007 and contained Microsoft Theatre, the Xbox 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. L.A. Live was initially decried by architects as not being openly pleasing to the neighborhood streets and a metal looking fortress when it opened. The designer of the project, the architect Nate Cherry of CallisonRTKL, wanted to create narrow walkways to lure visitors into the plaza from the street, thus creating alleyways lined with restaurants, similar to a European style public plaza. L.A. Live brought in a renaissance to the neighborhood surrounding Crypto.com Arena and billions in economic activity to downtown Los Angeles. Through the years, the success of LA LIVE! has created mirrored versions or renovations of districts adjacent to sports venues, including TEXAS LIVE in

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...

, KEMBA Live! at the

Arena District The Arena District is a Mixed-use development, mixed-use planned development and neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio. The site was developed through a partnership between Nationwide Realty Investors, Ltd. (a subsidiary of Nationwide Mutual Insurance ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, Kansas City Live! in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, Titletown District in

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the head of Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the F ...

, Patriot Place outside of

Gillette Stadium Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States. The stadium is southwest of Downtown Boston and 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Providence, Rhode Island. It serves as the home stadium and admi ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, and the

American Dream Meadowlands American Dream is a large retail and entertainment complex in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, East Rutherford, Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, and is the second largest mall in the United Sta ...

near Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey.

Explored expansion

In 2020, AEG proposed a $1.2-billion public-private partnership that would add as much as 700,000 square feet to the convention center, which AEG operates, and a $700-million, 861-room addition to the JW Marriott hotel. Plans were approved in 2022. Three years of construction is scheduled. For a time prior to the return of the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

in 2016, plans were being developed for the NFL to

return Return may refer to: In business, economics, and finance * Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense. * Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment * Tax return, a blank document or t ...

to Los Angeles with a new stadium on the campus, to be called Farmers Field. The Los Angeles City Council approved a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with AEG in a 12–0 vote on August 9, 2011. AEG abandoned the project in March 2015, after the three most likely NFL teams all proposed their own stadium plans in the event they were to relocate to Los Angeles.

Features

L.A. Live has of ballrooms, bars, concert

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

s, restaurants, movie theaters, and a 54-story hotel and condominium tower on a site. The complex became home to AEG and the

Herbalife Herbalife Nutrition Ltd., also called Herbalife International, Inc. (with a U.S. subsidiary called Herbalife International of America) or simply Herbalife, is an American multinational multi-level marketing (MLM) corporation that develops and se ...

headquarters in 2008.

Event Deck

The west outdoor parking garage, the top-level roof is used as event space, called "Event Deck". The 90,000 square foot roof has no obstruction pilers and can easily accommodate large-scale tents and platforms. It was used for the

63rd Annual Grammy Awards The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held in and around the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles on March 14, 2021. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 201 ...

and the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

as they could accommodate an indoor and outdoor setting for safety protocol. Also used for the world premiers of the Hunger Games franchise and other Hollywood afterparties. The event space can hold up to 5,000 guests.

Peacock Place

Peacock Place (formerly Nokia Plaza, Microsoft Square & Xbox Plaza) is a open-air plaza that serves as the central meeting place for L.A. Live. The Square provides a broadcast venue featuring giant LED screens as well as a red carpet site for special events. Xbox Plaza hosted the first

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

SummerSlam Axxess event on the weekend beginning August 22, 2009, leading up to the 2009

SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...

event on August 23 at

Staples Center Crypto.com Arena (originally and colloquially known as Staples Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in downtown Los Angeles. Opened on October 17, 1999, as Staples Center, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along F ...

. On June 24, 2010, the Square was the location for the official red carpet premiere of '' The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'' among other world premieres. The

2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 92nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game, held between the American League (AL) and the National League (NL) of Major League Baseball (MLB). The game was hosted by the Los Angeles Dodgers at D ...

red carpet was held at the plaza.

Peacock Theater and The Novo

Peacock Theater The Peacock Theater, formerly Nokia Theatre and Microsoft Theater, is a music and theater venue at L.A. Live in the Downtown Los Angeles, downtown core of Los Angeles, California, United States. The theater auditorium seats 7,100 and holds one ...

(previously the Nokia Theatre before June 2015 and Microsoft Theater before July 2023) is a music and theatre venue seating 7,100, and The Novo (previously Club Nokia) is a smaller venue with a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 2,300 for live music and cultural events. The theatre has hosted the ESPY Awards since 2008, as well as the

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...

, the Primetime Emmys, the

Radio Disney Music Awards The Radio Disney Music Awards (RDMA) are a discontinued annual awards show operated and governed by Radio Disney, an American radio network. Beginning in 2001, the show was originally broadcast on Radio Disney only, but it was later televised on ...

, the

Billboard Music Awards The ''Billboard'' Music Awards are honors given out annually by '' Billboard'', a publication covering the music business and a music popularity chart. The ''Billboard'' Music Awards show has been held annually since 1990, with the exception of ...

, and other leading ceremonies serving the entertainment industry. The theater is so commonly used, on March 11, 2008, the

Academy of Television Arts and Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. A 501(c)(6) non-profit or ...

announced with AEG that the venue would be the home to the

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

ceremony from 2008 onward. The venue has also hosted the finale of the seventh, eighth and ninth seasons of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

''. The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards were held at Microsoft Theater on September 12, 2010. The first scheduled event held at the Peacock Theatre was a concert featuring

the Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in ...

and the Dixie Chicks on October 18, 2007. Recording artist

John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but he left for Atlanta in 1997 with fellow guitarist Clay Cook, with whom he formed the short-liv ...

's live album '' Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles'' was recorded at the Peacock Theatre. The Peacock Theatre will host

weightlifting Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

during the

and

powerlifting Powerlifting is a competitive strength athletics, strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: Squat (exercise), squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athle ...

during the

2028 Summer Paralympics The 2028 Summer Paralympics, also known as the 18th Summer Paralympic Games, and branded as Los Angeles 2028 or LA28, is an upcoming international multi-sport parasports event governed by the International Paralympic Committee, scheduled to ta ...

Grammy Museum

On May 8, 2007, it was announced that the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

would establish a museum dedicated to the history of the

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

. The museum opened in December 2008 for the Grammy Awards 50th anniversary. It consists of four floors with historical music artifacts. It has featured a number of exhibits, including the

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

Songwriter Exhibit, which was open from October 4, 2010, to March 31, 2011. Embedded on the sidewalks at the LA Live streets are bronze disks, similar to the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

, honoring each year's top winners, Record of the Year, Best New Artist, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year.

Hotels and residences

The centerpiece of the district is a 54-story, 1,001-room two-hotel hybrid tower, constructed above the parking lot directly north of the Crypto.com Arena. Designed by

Gensler Gensler is a global design and architecture firm headquartered in San Francisco, California. It is the largest architecture firm in the world by revenue and number of architects. In 2022, Gensler generated $1.785 billion in revenue, the most o ...

and built by Webcor Builders, the skyscraper contains both an 879-room JW Marriott hotel on floors 3–21 and a 123-room

Ritz-Carlton The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addit ...

hotel on floors 22–26. Floors 27–52 hold 224 ''Residences at the Ritz Carlton'' condominiums. The tower's architectural design evolves from a "geometric pattern of glittering, blue-tinted glass." Thirty-four different types of glass were installed to create the uniquely patterned facade. Groundbreaking for the tower took place in June 2007. The project was completed in the first quarter of 2010. In July 2014, Marriott Hotels opened a second two-hotel hybrid tower with 393 rooms just north across Olympic Boulevard with a Marriott Courtyard and a Residence Inn.

ESPN broadcasting studios

The second phase of development included a ESPN broadcasting studio, as well as an ESPN Zone restaurant built on the corner of Figueroa Street and Chick Hearn Court. In an effort to expand coverage of West Coast sports,

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

began broadcasting the 1 AM ET (10 PM PT) edition of

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is an American television sports news broadcasting show broadcast by ESPN. Originally anchored by Chris Berman, George Grande, Greg Gumbel, Lee Leonard, Bob Ley, Sal Marchiano and Lou Palmer, it premiered on Septem ...

from the studio on April 6, 2009. The ESPN Zone restaurant closed in July 2013 and was replaced by Tom's Urban 24, Smashburger and Live Basil Pizza restaurants.

Regal Cinemas

The $100 million, ,

Regal Entertainment Group Regal Cinemas (also Regal Entertainment Group) is an American movie theater chain that operates the second-largest theater circuit in the United States, with 5,720 screens in 420 theaters as of December 31, 2024. Founded on August 10, 1989, it ...

movie complex opened in 2009 and includes 14 screens and 3,772 seats.Richard Verrier Hollywood opening for downtown cinema AEG hopes its $100-million Regal movie complex will capture lucrative premiers October 24, 2009, B1 Los Angeles Times It includes a three-story art-deco-style atrium and an 806-seat theater called the "Regal Premiere House" intended for "lucrative" premieres. The theater complex became the West Coast

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

location for Regal, at the time of its opening, the largest theater chain in the United States. The

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

film '' This Is It'' was the opening film at the theater.

Restaurants

L.A. Live is also host to a set of mid- to upper-scale dining including Cleo, Fixins Soul Kitchen, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, Katsuya, Lawry's, Lazy Dog, Rock'N Fish, Sol-Agave Mexican Restaurant, Savoca Italian, Smash Burger, Tom's Watch Bar,

Wolfgang Puck Wolfgang Johannes Puck (born July 8, 1949) is an Austrian chef and restaurateur. Early life Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria. He learned cooking from his mother, who was a pastry chef. He took the surname of his stepfather, Jos ...

Bar & Grill, and Yard House.

Construction gallery

File:LA Live Construction May 2007.jpg, L.A. Live during Construction File:LA LiveTower05.jpg, The hotel on Olympic Blvd. under construction in November 2008 File:RitzCarlton.jpg, The completed Ritz Carlton Residences at LA Live File:Only the pics from L.A 336.jpg, Regal Theater and Marriott under construction summer of 2008.

References

External links

L.A. Live official website

Peacock Theater website

Smarter Places: RTKL architects

Los Angeles Sports Council

Staples Center official website
{{2028 Summer Olympic venues 2008 establishments in California Downtown Los Angeles Entertainment districts in California Music venues in Los Angeles Sports venues in Los Angeles

Nokia Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...

Condo hotels in the United States Apartment buildings in Los Angeles Residential skyscrapers in Los Angeles Tourist attractions in Los Angeles JW Marriott Hotels The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company RTKL Associates buildings 2000s architecture in the United States Skyscraper hotels in Los Angeles Venues of the 2028 Summer Olympics