After more than a decade of planning and debate, the Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to move forward with renovation and expansion plans for the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The $54 million proposal essentially adds more space to the center’s exhibit hall, meeting rooms and multipurpose space in preparation for the 2028 Olympic Games.
The city-owned convention center will host boxing, fencing, taekwondo and table tennis events during the 2028 Summer Olympics.
The council voted 13-1 to allocate the money and allow preliminary construction to proceed, but several members expressed concern about the tight schedule the city would face to complete the project.
The preparatory work will help the city determine whether the renovation of the 1971 building can be completed on time. If the results of the work show that this is not the case, the project can be stopped.
“Not only will LA get a world-class convention center that we can be proud of, just in time for the World’s Fair, but it will also create thousands of jobs, both permanent and temporary,” said Councilman Curren Price.
The proposal does not demolish any of the existing facilities and connects new buildings, adding 17,500 square meters of exhibition space, 5,100 square meters of meeting space and 8,800 square meters of multifunctional space.
If the convention center project is feasible, the city would pay for construction, but the work would be done through a public-private partnership with Anschutz Entertainment Group, the center’s operator, and development company Plenary Group.
