With the addition of the 878-room JW Marriott at L.A. Live and the 123-room Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles, the $2.5 billion L.A. Live entertainment project will become a flexible venue that works for a broad range of groups — welcoming your intimate gathering of red-carpet high-achievers or your association delegates convening at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

“Downtown L.A. needed a convention center hotel,” says Lisa Herzlich, senior vice president and managing director for L.A. Live, which is owned by Anschutz Entertainment Group. “We had many choices. We chose JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton.” The hotels are set to open in March 2010, the centerpiece of L.A. Live's Phase Three.

Phase One wrapped up in October 2007 with the opening of the 7,100-seat Nokia Theatre, home to the “American Idol” finals and the Emmy Awards, among others. Phase Two will be completed in March 2009 with the opening of ESPN's West Coast headquarters and a 25,000-square-foot ESPN Zone restaurant and venue. Also planned are a dozen other restaurants, from a steakhouse to Trader Vic's to a Wolfgang Puck signature restaurant; the Lucky Strike Bowling Lanes, whose 18 lanes can be bought out for group events; the Conga Room, a 1,000-person music club co-owned by Jennifer Lopez; the highly interactive Grammy Museum, with a terrace that holds 300 guests for a reception; and finally Club Nokia, an intimate House of Blues-type venue with 2,300 seats.

The JW Marriott tower topped out at 54 floors in December. Floors 1 through 21 house the JW Marriott; The Ritz-Carlton is on floors 22 through 26; and 224 Ritz-Carlton Residences, 65 percent of which already have been sold, occupy floors 27 through 54. Other features of the JW Marriott include a rooftop pool and reception area overlooking the Nokia Plaza. Connected to the guest room tower are three stacked ballrooms coming in at 25,000 square feet, 21,000 square feet, and 17,000 square feet, with pre-function foyers of 12,000 square feet, 10,000 square feet, and 9,000 square feet respectively.

Anchoring the area are the Los Angeles Convention Center and the Staples Center. Meeting planners can work with one point of contact for planning events throughout the complex, notes Hannah Bartell, CMP, senior sales manager at the JW Marriott pre-opening offices in L.A. Visit www.lalive.com for updates.