The Los Angeles Arena Land Company, owners of the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, used the Urban Simulation Team to visualize their plans for the L.A. Entertainment District, a multibillion dollar downtown los angeles sports and entertainment district adjacent to Staples Center. L.A. Live, a component of the district is currently under construction, and when completed will include the recently opened Nokia Theater and the outdoor Nokia Plaza, ESPN's west coast headquarters broadcast studio, a 1,200-room convention "headquaters" hotel with partners Marriott and Ritz Carlton, a multiplex cinema, entertainment, retail, restaurants, office space, and underground parking.

The developers approached the Team on the recommendation of Ron Deaton, the Los Angeles City Council's Chief Legislative Analyst.

In May 2000, Timothy J. Leiweke, president of the L.A. Arena Land Co. and Staples Center, unveiled plans for the development to the City Council by showing a video walk-through of the real-time model on a large-screen projection system.

By situating the proposed development in the context of downtown, the model allowed for both broad discussion of urban planning issues and specific design questions such as the District's impact on the Figueroa corridor.