Los Angeles City Council approves plan to advance Convention Center modernization with conditions

The Los Angeles City Council voted 14–1 on April 9, 2025 to approve a motion directing city staff to finish negotiations and return with a final project agreement this summer to modernize and expand the Los Angeles Convention Center, while adopting a set of council amendments intended to limit city exposure and increase revenue certainty.

Council members and dozens of public commenters spent hours on the item, which drew repeated support from building-trades unions, convention-industry representatives and neighborhood groups who said the project would create union jobs and bring convention business back to downtown Los Angeles. Councilmembers pressed city staff on costs, revenue projections and risk allocation and required that remaining issues — including highway signage and other intergovernmental approvals — be resolved before the council would be asked to authorize project debt.

Why it matters: Council supporters said a modernized convention center could generate new conventions, jobs and tax revenue that would help the city’s broader fiscal picture. Skeptical members warned that construction risk, revenue assumptions and the city’s tight budget require strict limits on the amounts the city may absorb and clear evidence that projected new revenue and signage approvals are real.

Most important facts

- The council approved the project report as modified by three council amendments (identified in the meeting as modifications 13A, 13C and 13E) and directed city staff (COO and CLA) to complete negotiations and return with a final project agreement in July. The final approval to issue debt would be a later, separate council action.

- Councilmembers said staff projects roughly $137 million a year in new convention-related revenue from the expanded center (as presented at the meeting). Staff also said current annual operating costs are roughly $30 million; additional operating and maintenance estimates for the expanded facility were discussed but not finalized.

- Several amendments were adopted to narrow city financial risk and require further reporting: 13A (approved), 13C (approved), 13E (approved). Two other amendment measures were rejected or discarded during the meeting: 13B failed and 13D was discarded.

Public comment and union support

Dozens of speakers supported the project during the public comment period, including labor-union representatives and installers who said union jobs and careers depend on the work. Speakers who identified themselves included Lázaro Ibaris (Association of Residents of Downtown Los Angeles), Peter Marley (local business representative), Eriz Cotto Álvarez (union representative), and other union and neighborhood representatives who urged the council to vote yes. Multiple commenters emphasized that construction would use union labor and create long-term jobs for residents.

Council discussion and staff responses

Councilmembers pressed staff for specifics about cost contingencies, the allocation of construction risk, timeline and the effect on general fund spending. Staff told the council the revenue projection cited in the presentation was approximately $137 million and that current convention-center operating costs are roughly $30 million per year. Staff and the CLA said a final, fixed construction price and a complete allocation of risks would be returned to the council with the final project agreement; several councilmembers said those items must be resolved before any debt is issued.

Councilmembers also raised the need for state and Caltrans approvals for highway/signage changes the project relies on; staff confirmed work remains with state and federal partners to secure signage and other intergovernmental approvals and that those items are a condition before the final debt authorization.

Votes at a glance (item 13 and related motions)

- Modification 13E (sponsored in the meeting by Jeroslovsky and Makowski; seconded by Soto Martínez, Roman and Harris Townsend): Approved, vote recorded in session as 13 in favor, 2 opposed. Outcome: approved.

- Modification 13C (sponsored by Jurado, Jeroslovsky and Price): Approved, vote recorded as 14 in favor, 1 opposed. Outcome: approved.

- Modification 13B (sponsored by Rodríguez and Padilla): Failed, vote recorded in the meeting as 2 in favor, 3 opposed. Outcome: failed.

- Modification 13A (sponsored by Park and Price): Approved, vote recorded as 15 in favor. Outcome: approved.

- Modification 13D (sponsored by Bloomenfield, Rodríguez and Padilla): Discarded during the meeting (read in the minutes as "ha sido descartada"). Outcome: failed/discarded.

- Final vote on the Economic and Jobs report as modified by 13A, 13C and 13E (the package returned to the council for adoption): Approved, recorded as 14 in favor, 1 opposed. Outcome: approved; council instructed staff to complete negotiations and return with a final project agreement in July and to resolve signage and other intergovernmental approvals before debt authorization.

Other formal votes in the meeting

- The council also voted in favor (15–0) on a closed-session settlement recommendation identified in the published agenda as item 20 (staff read a recommended settlement amount in the closed-session summary; the council opened, closed the roll and recorded a vote of 15 in favor). The meeting packet lists multiple closed-session items (16–25) with settlement recommendations; those items were taken up as part of the closed-session consent recommendations and recorded as before the council.

What the council did not decide today

The council did not authorize project debt, issue bonds, or sign a final construction contract. Staff said the final claimed construction price and allocation of risk will be presented to the council in a follow-up report; the council’s April 9 action authorized staff to complete negotiations and to return with a final agreement for council consideration.

Context and next steps

Supporters said the project could restore convention business to downtown Los Angeles, create thousands of construction and permanent jobs and generate tax revenue. Skeptical members said the city’s current budget shortfall and uncertainty about signage, revenue projections and construction risk require strict limits and ongoing oversight. Council instructions require staff to return in July with a final, negotiated project agreement and additional analyses; the council said signage approvals and intergovernmental steps must be resolved before any debt authorization.

The council’s action allows staff to complete negotiations and to proceed with early work under the conditions the council adopted; final approval of financing and a fixed project price will require a later council vote.