Inside the LA Convention Center $2.6 billion makeover

Los Angeles is going all in on its Olympic glow-up, with city leaders pushing a staggering $2.6 billion makeover of the aging LA Convention Center (LACC) in a desperate bid to revive a struggling downtown before the 2028 Games.

While full construction job won’t be completed until 2029, about 80% will be done by the time the Olympic and Paralympic Games begin, according to Kimberly Weedmark, general manager at the LACC.

The flashy overhaul will transform the decades-old complex into a futuristic mega-campus complete with rooftop terraces, giant digital displays, sleek new events halls and a massive glass atrium hovering over Pico Boulevard.

Under the ambitious plan, the convention center’s South and West halls would finally be stitched together with a brand new structure spanning Pico, creating more than 750,000 square feet of uninterrupted convention space, and increasing the total space to more than 1 million square feet.

The project will also add roughly 190,000 square feet of new exhibit halls, 95,000 square feet of multipurpose space, dozens of upgraded meeting rooms and futuristic “skynode” lobby designed to wow the mass of tourists expected to descend on LA during the Olympics.

The revamped center is being pitched as far more than just a convention venue, with plans for open-air terraces, pedestrian-friendly plazas, upgraded food and beverage spaces and sweeping views of the city skyline.

Supporters of the project claims the revamped center could pump more than $150 million a year into the local economy and create over 15,000 jobs.

Officials also brag that three major conventions have already signed on because of the expansion plans, potentially bringing 55,000 visitors and nearly $100 million in spending to LA.

Mayor Karen Bass has aggressively championed the project as a key part of her push to re-imagine downtown ahead of the Olympics.

“The benefits of this investment are already being realized,” Bass said in January, while touting the conferences reportedly secured because of the planned expansion.

While it won’t be fully finished, the expansion is expected to play a major role during LA28, when the LACC is slated to host events like fencing, judo, taekwondo, wrestling, and table tennis.

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