NOVEMBER

By fall, the new downtown sports arena was taking shape. Approved by the Los Angeles City Council after a long and rollicking debate, the arena was named Staples Center. First rose an oval of spires, next the walls. Although still not capped with a roof, the center has already reshuffled the local sports scene and made itself felt in civic affairs: It will be home to the Lakers and Clippers of basketball and the Kings of hockey next fall. Meanwhile, backers of the effort to lure the 2000 Democratic National Convention to Los Angeles have made the arena a centerpiece of their campaign.