Los Angeles city leaders have approved a $2.6 billion expansion of the Los Angeles Convention Center, betting big on a project that could reshape downtown and help prepare the city for the 2028 Olympic Games—but at a steep financial risk.
In an 11-2 vote, the City Council pushed the project forward despite repeated warnings from their own financial advisors that the expansion could siphon more than $100 million annually from the general fund, which pays for police, fire, sanitation, and other critical city services.
The expansion must break ground almost immediately to be completed in time for the Olympics, where the Convention Center will host events such as judo and wrestling.
“This project will be transformative for downtown, and I truly believe the catalyst for future investment and redevelopment,” said Councilmember Traci Park, who leads the council’s tourism and trade committee. “We need to bring our city back to life, and with world events looming, we don’t have time to wait.”
Mayor Karen Bass and council allies argue the expansion will create 13,000 construction jobs and more than 2,000 permanent jobs, while strengthening Los Angeles’ appeal as a top-tier convention destination.
“If we’re not here to believe in ourselves, who’s going to believe in us?” said Councilmember Adrin Nazarian. “If we don’t invest in ourselves today, how are we going to be able to go and ask the major investors around the world to come in and invest in us?”
Business groups also lined up in support. Nella McOsker, president of the Central City Association, said the expansion would make L.A. more competitive for national events: “This is a model that can work.”
Construction trade unions strongly advocated for the project, calling it vital for working families. “The only reason I was able to raise my family, buy a home and retire with security in your district is because of major projects like this,” said Sydney Berrard, a retired member of Sheet Metal Workers’ Local Union No. 105.
Opponents warned the city could be sacrificing essential services for decades. City Controller Kenneth Mejia opposed the plan, arguing it will not generate net positive revenue until the late 2050s.
“Due to the city’s consistent budgetary and financial problems with no real solutions for long-term fiscal health ... our office cannot recommend going forward with the current plan at this time,” Mejia said.
Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, chair of the budget committee, blasted the decision as reckless:
“If you think city services are bad now … and you thought maybe one day we would have funding to restore service, I have bad news: It’s going to get worse.”
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Councilmember Nithya Raman raised concerns that the new Convention Center could be overshadowed by worsening homelessness: “What I fear is that we’re going to have a beautiful new Convention Center surrounded by far more homelessness than we have today, which will drive away tourists, which will prevent people from coming here and holding their events here.”
The project calls for building a 325,000-square-foot expansion, connecting the existing South and West Halls with a new three-story structure spanning Pico Boulevard. Officials acknowledged the plan is “extraordinarily complicated and extraordinarily costly”, in the words of City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo.
Szabo warned that while the expansion could provide “substantial economic benefits,” it would also demand trade-offs for decades: “We will be committing funds not just in 2030, but for 30 years after that to support this expansion.”
Despite those warnings, demolition is set to begin next month. Ernesto Medrano of the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council said union workers are eager to get started:
“Our members are ready to don their hard hats, their work boots, their tool belts and start moving dirt.”
With the clock ticking toward 2028, the Convention Center project now becomes one of the city’s most ambitious—and divisive—investments in recent history.
Originally reported by David Zahniser and Noah Goldberg in Los Angels Times.
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