Los Angeles: convention centre extension in the starting-blocks

With a view to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the L.A. Convention Center has been expanded. The aim is to make the city a MICE destination commensurate with its economic weight.
By Arnaud Deltenre -
Too small to make Los Angeles a major MICE destination, the L.A. Convention Centre will be expanded in time for the 2028 Olympics.
Too small to make Los Angeles a major MICE destination, the L.A. Convention Centre will be expanded in time for the 2028 Olympics.

The Paris Olympics have not yet begun, and Los Angeles is already preparing for the next Olympics. The city has taken advantage of the accelerator effect of this global event to push ahead with a long-awaited project: the modernisation and expansion of its LACC convention centre. Strictly speaking, this is not a strategic extension in the run-up to the 2028 Olympics, since, according to the Los Angeles TimesThe venue is large enough to host the events planned, namely fencing and table tennis. This expansion project has a stronger, higher purpose long-term goal: to make the Californian city a MICE destination worthy of its position as the second largest city in the United States.

" The LACC is currently a second-tier facility and we are losing business to other cities because of the constraints of the Convention Centre." said Doane Liu, Director of Tourism and Executive Director of the city's Department of Tourism. According to the Wall Street Journal's rankings, the Los Angeles Convention Centre is ranked in 21e position in the top 30 best convention centres across the Atlantic, well behind the Las Vegas Convention Center and Chicago's Mc Cormick Place, number 1 and 2, but also behind convention centres in Atlanta, Phoenix and Seattle.

It is above all the lack of space at the L.A. Convention Center that puts the Californian city at a disadvantage for attracting major conventions. And this at a time when its rivals are not standing still, and have also undertaken major expansions. Dallas, for example, will have a significantly enlarged convention centre by 2028, while that ofIndianapolis will see the addition of 65,000 m² by 2026.

As part of the L.A. Convention Center's expansion and modernisation project, the junction between the South and West halls will be built. This will result in a new hall covering almost 18,000 m² of floor spaceThis will include a 9,000 m² multi-purpose space and 5,000 m² of meeting rooms. In addition, the redevelopment of the Place Gilbert Lindsay will free up space for outdoor events.

As part of the project, the City of Los Angeles is entering into a contract with a joint venture of AEG and The Plenary Group, while working with architectural firm Populous and contractors PCL and Webcor to finalise the design plans, ahead of the scheduled start of work in Spring 2025. This should make the LACC a real economic driver for the future Olympic city.

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