L.A. Convention Center renovation still alive, as City Council commits more funds

A plan to renovate the 1970s-era Convention Center is moving forward, with the Los Angeles City Council agreeing Wednesday to spend $27.7 million for additional design and technical work.

The council’s action, on a 14-1 vote, doesn’t authorize the massive renovation, but it shows that the council is firmly behind the effort to overhaul the downtown structure, despite a city budget shortfall for next year that is projected to be nearly $1 billion.

A final vote is expected in July, when the project costs are more clear and a city agreement is finalized with APCLA, also known as AEG Plenary Conventions Los Angeles, the joint venture that would oversee construction of the center.

Scores of business leaders and construction workers turned out at both Wednesday’s council meeting and a Tuesday committee meeting to urge council members to move forward with the renovation.

Aaron Taxy, vice president of governmental affairs at the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, said a modernized convention center would have a ripple effect beyond downtown.

“It’s an investment in Los Angeles,” Taxy said at Tuesday’s committee meeting. “It’s an investment in our workforce. It’s an investment in businesses across our city.”

City leaders want to overhaul the Convention Center because its two structures, the South Hall and the West Hall, do not offer the contiguous space that top-tier conventions require. With fewer large-scale events, the city loses out on the tax revenue that would be generated by hotels, according to city analysts.

The planned renovation, pegged at more than $4 billion, which includes debt costs, would connect the two halls by adding a segment across Pico Boulevard.

Earlier this year, city analysts warned council members that the renovation was at risk, following concerns that the city needed to focus on rebuilding its infrastructure in the wake of the Palisades fire.

However, in an updated report dated March 28, City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo and Chief Legislative Analyst Sharon Tso offered the choice of a phased approach that would allow for construction to start by the end of this year and finish in 2029.

With several Olympic sports, including fencing and table tennis, planned at the Convention Center, construction would stop temporarily during the 2028 Games, Szabo and Tso said.

Mayor Karen Bass’ senior director of economic policy, Max Reyes, appeared before Tuesday’s committee to reaffirm the mayor’s support for the project. Reyes said that thousands of Angelenos depend on the business from the Convention Center for their livelihoods. Moving the project forward is about “the future of our city ... not just downtown,” Reyes said.

Doane Liu, executive director of the city’s tourism department, told council members at Tuesday’s meeting that he expects revenues to double following a renovation, in part because bigger conventions will come to L.A.

A boost in revenues would offset the debt but still leave the city facing a $45-million annual deficit to the general fund because of the renovation, analysts said.

City analysts also warned council members about several outstanding issues, including the need for state approval for freeway-facing digital signs.

City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who represents the northern San Fernando Valley, cast the lone “no” vote at Wednesday’s meeting, arguing that the city shouldn’t be allocating money for a proposed renovation at the same time it is planning to cut employee positions because of next year’s nearly $1 billion deficit.

She told reporters Tuesday that the city couldn’t “continue to fund failure.”

“It was clear from the very beginning that this wasn’t going to be achieved in time, and frankly, it wasn’t necessary for the 2028 Games,” said Rodriguez.

Rodriguez also voted against last year’s plan to spend up to $54 million on design, engineering and other pre-construction work for the Convention Center expansion. At least $40 million of that money has been spent.

City analysts said the funds for the pre-design and technical work aren’t coming from the city’s general fund but are being borrowed, with the cost included in the overall price tag for the renovation.

At Wednesday’s meeting, several council members, including Katy Yaroslavsky and Tim McOsker, asked city analysts to report back on options for reducing costs for the renovation and boosting revenue, including through the granting of naming rights.