Even with completion before the 2028 Olympics now off the table, the City Council has voted once again to push forward with the long-planned overhaul of the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Yesterday, the Council moved to spend an additional $27.7 million on design and engineering work for the project, which has seen its overall price tag balloon to more than $2.2 billion. A final vote on whether to proceed with construction is slated to occur over the summer, after city officials expect to complete negotiations with private sector partners AEG and Plenary Group.

As currently envisioned, the expansion would see the construction of 190,000 square feet of new exhibit hall space, 55,000 square feet of meeting room space, and 95,000 square feet of multi-purpose space. At the exterior, Gilbert Lindsay Plaza fronting Figueroa Street would be renovated, and upgrades would be implemented to the stretch of Pico Boulevard which cuts through the Convention Center site.

View looking northeastCity of Los Angeles

The expansion would increase the overall footprint of the Convention Center to more than 1 million square feet, allowing the facility to better compete for large events against other major cities such as New York or Chicago. City officials have estimated that the expansion could double the amount of revenue the facility generates, in part by allowing for an increase to rental rates that have not been raised in more than a decade, as well as new signage that could be displayed on the center.

Should the project move forward to construction, city staff estimated that work would commence September of this year, then pause at the end of May 2028 to allow the Convention Center to be used as a venue for the Olympic games between June and September. Following the close of the games, construction would resume with the aim of completing work by March 2029.

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