The Los Angeles City Council approved a massive expansion of the downtown convention center Friday, setting aside concerns about the risks to future funding for basic city services.
The project will connect the West and South halls of the sprawling facility and add an estimated 325,000 square feet of space in hopes of attracting new conventions — and new revenue — to Los Angeles.
“Every year we lose tens of millions of dollars in economic opportunity to other cities with better facilities,” said Councilmember Traci Park. “We need to bring our city back to life and we don’t have time to wait.”
The benefits
The project would bring to L.A. at least 500,000 additional visitors over the first 10 years, according to City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo. It would generate an average of $120 million in direct revenue from events, parking and signage over 30 years, he said. It would produce more than $650 million dollars in indirect general fund tax revenue over 30 years from things like the hotel occupancy tax…