Plans to expand LA Convention Center in time for 2028 Olympics move forward
After over 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 multi-purpose room space, in preparation for the 2028 Olympics.
The city-owned Convention Center is scheduled to be the venue for boxing, fencing, taekwondo and table tennis during the 2028 Summer Olympics.
The council voted 13-1 to allocate the money and move forward with pre-construction work, though several members expressed concerns over the tight timeline the city would face to complete the project.
The preliminary work will help the city determine if the remodeling on the 1971-built building can be done on time, and if the result shows it can't, then the project could be terminated.
"Not only will L.A. have a world-class Convention Center that we can be proud of just in time for the world stage, but it's also going to bring thousands of jobs, permanent and temporary jobs," Councilman Curren Price said.
Within the proposal, none of the existing facilities would be demolished, and new construction would connect some of the buildings, adding 190,000 square feet to exhibit hall space, 55,000 square feet of meeting room space and 95,000 square feet of multipurpose space.
If the Convention Center project is feasible, the city would pay for the construction but the work would be done through a private-public partnership with Anschutz Entertainment Group, which operates the center, and development firm Plenary Group.
