Flights Over Southern California To See Rock-N-Roll History

One of the biggest rock bands to come out of California is being honored with a very big record, as the round roof of the Forum in Inglewood has been turned into a giant spinning record platter to honor The Eagles and "Hotel California."

Passengers on flights arriving to LAX throughout January will see "Hotel California" spinning -- its edge moving 17 miles per hour -- atop the entire roof of the Forum, part of the publicity campaign for the rebirth of the former multipurpose arena as an entertainment venue.

The Hotel California maxi-disc should be visible to people on the right sides of the nearly 1,600 daily flights that arrive during normal east-to-west landings at LAX.

The Eagles will open the Forum with six shows starting Jan. 15, which are nearly sold out, according to promoters. With the Forum's focus now on entertainment, especially live musical acts, the venue has undergone a comprehensive, $100 million renovation that will make it the largest indoor music and entertainment venue in the country, promoters say.

The super-sized Hotel California LP was designed and built by a Glendale marketing and promotion company, Pop2Life. The impressive structure is made from more than a quarter-million square feet of printed vinyl, held up by more than half a mile of aluminum truss, the only 120-foot truss circle in the U.S. The 407-foot diameter disc spins at 17 mph and was constructed by a crew of more than 75 workers.

The revamped Forum is billed as the largest indoor performance venue in the country designed with a focus on music and entertainment. The interior features flexible seating, ranging from 8,000 to 17,500 seats and refurbished concourses, including a new event-level hospitality space.

A new tinted glass wall separates the concession area from the arena floor, giving fans opportunity to view performances while milling about.

In addition to The Eagles'"History of the Eagles" six tour performances in January, Justin Timberlake's highly anticipated "20/20 Experience World Tour" will come to the venue Jan. 20.

Alejandra Guzmn brings her "La Guzmn 1F Tour" to the venue Feb. 1, Imagine Dragons'"Into the Night Tour" hits Feb. 14, and "Paul Simon & Sting: On Stage Together" shows Feb. 15.

Once home to the Lakers and Kings, the Forum saw five NBA title championship home seasons. It also hosted Led Zeppelin 16 times between 1970- 1977, and was the venue where The Eagles recorded the "Eagles Live" album during its "One of These Nights" tour in 1976.

Prince played an epic series of 21 shows between April and May, 2011.

The arena had been owned by a church, but was sold to the Madison Square Garden Company.

Video of the massive disc is posted at www.fabulousforum.com/about.html .  --City News Service