The Los Angeles Convention Center expansion project is expected to bring in an estimated 186,000 visitors and deliver more than $400 million to the local economy, Mayor Karen Bass said Wednesday.
Bass was joined by city officials, labor groups and business leaders at a news conference Wednesday morning to tout the benefits of modernizing the downtown facility.
Officials said that since construction on the project began a year ago, 18 major conferences have chosen to hold their annual events in Los Angeles.
In 2015, the expansion project was estimated to cost $470 million. As approved in 2025 by the City Council and Bass, the financing plan will encompass $2.68 billion in borrowing and $5.39 billion in total debt service.
Even after the projected revenue is counted, the expansion is expected to cost the city’s General Fund about $100 million annually for decades, according to City Councilwoman and mayoral candidate Nithya Raman.
Bass, who is seeking a second term in the Nov. 3 election, has faced criticism over her decision to approve the project as Los Angeles struggles with maintaining streets, street lights, sanitation, police staffing, animal
shelters and other basic city services.
Raman’s campaign criticized Bass for holding a taxpayer-funded news conference to discuss the project, which her campaign described as a “refubishment boondoggle.”
“Refurbishing the Convention Center is important — but no responsible mayor would pursue this through a $5.9 billion financing plan that drains essential services for decades,” Raman said in a statement. “This project will cause $100 million in cuts to city services, every year, leaving more broken streets, dark streetlights and slower 9-1-1 response times across every neighborhood in our city.”
Raman was one of two council members, alongside Katy Yaroslavsky, who voted against the project.
Raman’s campaign argued that Bass sat on the project for three years before it was finally approved and estimated costs soared, while Bass has maintained that the project will help revitalize downtown LA and boost the local economy while providing good-paying jobs for residents.
The expansion project is being built through a phased delivery, with construction leading up to the 2028 Olympic Games, pausing for that event, then continuing through completion as soon as 2029. Once complete, the project will connect the South and West Exhibit Halls above Pico Boulevard, 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.
