Event Industry News: ESPN Zone shuts down, Facebook embeds posts and 2014 Oscar host announced

August 5, 2013

Photo from LA Basketball Week

Goodbye, ESPN Zone: Sitting directly across from the Staples Center, the ESPN Zone at L.A. Live is closing down permanently. Taking the place of the ginormous playground dedicated to beer, sports and arcade games will be three new restaurants: Smashburger, Live Basil Pizza and Tom Urban 24. Live Basil Pizza and Tom Urban 24 originally hail from Colorado. These restaurants will provide dining options at a lower cost than the pricey menus of Wolfgang Puck, Yardhouse and Katsuya. The only ESPN Zone left in Southern California stands at Downtown Disney in Anaheim.

Facebook embedded: Facebook won’t be limited to likes anymore. Last week the social media powerhouse announced plans to roll out embedded posts. Users can now click on any given wall post, copy a code and insert that content into other sites including blogs and other media platforms. As of right now, only a few select sites are able to access this feature including Mashable and PEOPLE magazine.

Oscars 2014 Host: Ellen Degeneres has been announced as the official host of the 2013 Academy Awards. Degeneres previously hosted the event in 2007, with great success.

Water Sommelier (it’s a thing): According to an article from the Huffington Post, Ray’s & Stark Bar in Los Angeles now has a water menu… with more than 20 types of water to choose from. In addition to the menu, guests can do some good old-fashioned water tasting for the small price of $12. It’s hard to say whether people will take this seriously or not. While there is no denying the difference between certain types of water, it will be interesting to see whether customers are willing to shell out the extra cash for something like water tasting.

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