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# Nokia Theatre needs a tune up
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/nokia-theatre-needs-a-tune-up/
- Published: 2007-10-20T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T03:34:28.000Z
- Author: Ross Furukawa
- Tags: Entertainment, Downtown, #archive-import

*Downtown’s latest addition opens to mixed reviews*

DOWNTOWN L.A. Touted as “the Times Square of the West,” the new Nokia Theatre opened on Thursday night.

This 7,100 seat, 230,000 square-foot venue is just one of the focal points for L.A. Live, an ambitious $2.5 billion project intended to revitalize downtown Los Angeles. The venue is sandwiched between the Staples Center, Convention Center, the soon to be Ritz Carlton, movie theaters, a Grammy museum, restaurants and — of course — a bowling alley.

Opening night featured the Dixie Chicks and the Eagles, two notable, Grammy award-winning acts.

As I walked through the corridor created by the Staples Center and the Nokia Theatre I couldn’t help but notice it felt a bit like Las Vegas, and everyone was doing the Vegas gaze up at the massive buildings, flashing lights and 29-foot tall video screens. The Ritz is still just a couple of stories high, but when the building is finished it will tower 54 stories above the venue. Once I was inside the place, the lines for concessions were 20 people deep on all four levels, filled with patrons who apparently couldn’t wait to pay $10 for a Samuel Adams.

It seems as though every story written about the Nokia thus far has touted the quality of acoustics that the venue would feature.Adjectives like “ground breaking”and “world-class”set pretty high expectations. Once I finally had a chance to listen to the sound system, I was ready to compare the sound to the nearby Disney Concert Hall — a big mistake. The Nokia just sounds too big considering that it’s supposed to be an intimate concert space. Not quite stadium big, but certainly much larg-er than I had expected. Once I got over that (and the sound crew worked out some kinks during the first few songs), the sound refined a bit and was generally pretty good.

Not only does the venue sound big, it has the largest performance stage in Southern California. Flanked by two 20-foot LED screens, there really isn’t any need to bring binoculars — the screens do all the work. When the Eagles came on, they turned on the third center screen, making the performance feel like a music video on steroids.

AEG, the developers of L.A. Live and the Staples Center, have booked Anita Baker, the American Music Awards and dozens of other high quality acts. By year’s end they plan on booking 125 music, dance, comedy, award shows and special events.

For more information, visit the Nokia Theatre Web site at www.nokiatheaterlalive.com

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/102007-18_01.jpg)

BIG DAY: Members of the Eagles join L.A. (Photo: Photo courtesy Nokia Theatre)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 20, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/102007.pdf?ref=smdp.com)