Elected officials, dignitaries and downtown residents conducted a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for the recently approved $2.6 billion Convention Center Expansion Project, as Los Angeles races to prepare the facility for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
During a news conference outside the facility, Mayor Karen Bass and City Council members, among others, placed gold-colored shovels into the ground to mark the start of construction. The project will be built through a phased-delivery approach, meaning construction will occur leading up to Games, pause for the event, and continue through completion for 2029.
“The expansion of the LA Convention Center is crucial to our effort to revitalize the downtown area, create new economic opportunities and send a message to the world that LA is ready to compete and win on the global stage,” Bass said in a statement.
“I want to thank the City Council for taking the bold action needed to initiate this project, and I also want to acknowledge our labor leaders for their partnership as well. I look forward to working with all of our partners to deliver this expansion on-time and in a fiscally responsible manner,” her statement continued.
Councilman Curren Price, who attended the ceremony, suffered a medical emergency as a result of dehydration, according to his office. Price, who represents the Ninth Council District, was taken to a hospital to be monitored.
The expansion will connect the site’s West Hall with the South Hall, adding 190,000 square feet of exhibit hall space, nearly 40,000 square feet of meeting room space, and 95,000 square feet for a multi-service room. The council authorized $990 million in bonds to fund the project — with the debt service paid through 2058.
Bass previously announced that the Los Angeles Police Department will deploy foot patrols and trained bike officers around the downtown area to deter crime during the project, as well as trained mental health teams. Coordinated teams will also remove graffiti, and beautify major streets and public spaces.
Last week, Bass signed an executive directive aimed at streamlining and expediting projects by the city’s three proprietary departments — Los Angeles World Airports, the Port of Los Angeles and the Department of Water and Power. The Convention Center is expected to benefit from this effort.
City officials expect the project to generate significant economic impact by adding nearly 9,000 union jobs and 1,600 apprenticeships, $1.8 billion in additional local business sales, $103 million in tax revenue for city services and 3.6 million visitors annually.
The Convention Center is slated to be the venue for fencing, taekwondo, judo, wrestling and table tennis for the 2028 Olympics and wheelchair fencing, taekwondo, judo, boccia and table tennis for the 2028 Paralympics.
City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo said the city will finance $3.06 billion for the project. Controller Kenneth Mejia estimated the total cost will be much higher at $5.9 billion when borrowing costs are included.
City officials warned the expansion project must be “Olympic ready” by March 31, 2028, to prepare the site for athletic competitions. If the city fails to do so, Los Angeles could be on the hook for relocating costs of those events.
Council members Katy Yaroslavsky and Nithya Raman opposed the project, citing concerns over the high costs and impacts to city services and homelessness response.
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association also criticized the project.
“The City Council is threatening to saddle L.A. taxpayers with decades of debt payments to pay for a Convention Center expansion that they’re rushing to approve in time for the Olympics. It’s completely unfair to the taxpayers to put this unaffordable vanity project ahead of all the important priorities placing demands on the city’s budget,” the association said in a statement issued Sept. 18.
Rob Nothoff, deputy chief of staff for the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, an organization that represents 800,000 union members across the L.A. region, has supported the expansion project.
“This is an investment in our future. This is an investment in workers,” Nothoff previously said.
He argued the project will create thousands of new union jobs for L.A. residents.
“This project has a 50% local paradigm, meaning that Angelenos would be the ones who built it,” he added.
Leslie Ridings, co-founder of the Downtown Los Angeles Residents Association, hailed the project as well, saying it will serve as a catalyst to make downtown safer, stronger and more vibrant for some 90,000 residents, workers and visitors in the area.
“This is just the first step to show the world the very best of Los Angeles,” Ridings previously said. “Los Angeles comes together in the heart of DTLA.”