LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 22, 2025--
Today, the Los Angeles City Council voted to approve the L.A. Convention Center (LACC) Expansion and Modernization Project, underscoring the City’s commitment to maintaining its status as a world-class destination with a thriving tourism industry. This public infrastructure investment will create more than 15,000 jobs, add $652 million in General Fund tax revenue over 30 years and draw in over $150 million in additional visitor spending each year. View a video with renderings of the project here and download images and the video here.
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This project will spur much-needed economic growth in the region. Local businesses, especially in Downtown L.A., are dependent on direct and indirect spending from the LACC. This vote immediately helps local hotels as new bookings for the LACC will be confirmed for the upgraded space. It signals to investors, developers, local businesses and major industries that the City is committed to building a more prosperous future as a global leader and the chosen destination for organizations and associations to convene.
“I want to thank the Mayor and the City Council for their bold leadership and commitment to this legacy project that will make the Convention Center a premier destination for decades to come,” said Doane Liu, Chief Tourism Officer and Executive Director of the L.A. City Tourism Department. “This decision is the result of years of work with our City leaders and departments, and I’m proud of the tremendous effort put into this project. When the City of Los Angeles locks arms and shares a vision, we can successfully complete complex projects that make a positive lasting impact for Angelenos.”
Los Angeles has been at a competitive disadvantage in attracting large, citywide conventions due to the lack of contiguous space, especially as competitors have completed or are in the process of completing major expansions. The new construction will connect the two existing South and West Exhibit Halls by adding 190,000 square feet of space to create one contiguous hall with over 750,000 square feet, and will add 39,000 square feet of new meeting room space and 95,000 square feet of multipurpose space.
“An expanded and modernized Convention Center will transform the landscape of Downtown Los Angeles for following generations,” said Kimberly Weedmark, General Manager of the LA Convention Center. “We appreciate the LA City Council for their future facing vision, as this project will allow us to increase the number of top-tier programs that we welcome to Los Angeles, while granting our current clients continued growth opportunities. We are profoundly grateful to the teams at AEG, Plenary Group, Webcor, PCL and Populous, whose collaboration continues to set a new standard for excellence in the convention industry, and we look forward to the continued partnership as we move forward with the execution of the construction of the project. This is an incredibly exciting time for Los Angeles!”
“On behalf of the entire team at Los Angeles Tourism, we are incredibly grateful that the City Council has voted to advance the modernization of the Los Angeles Convention Center,” said Adam Burke, President & CEO, Los Angeles Tourism. “As one of the most powerful yet often unseen drivers of LA’s tourism economy, meetings and events generate billions of dollars annually for Los Angeles. They not only support the City’s General Fund and help fund essential services for all Angelenos, but also sustain local businesses across the greater Los Angeles region. As we look ahead to historic years on the horizon, and as the global spotlight on Los Angeles intensifies, we know the Los Angeles Convention Center will play an even more vital role in shaping our city’s future while continuing to welcome guests from around the globe.”
ABOUT LOS ANGELES CITY TOURISM DEPARTMENT
The Los Angeles City Tourism Department (CTD) advances tourism policies and strategies to increase the competitiveness of Los Angeles as a premier convention and tourist destination. The department oversees two public-private partnerships – with the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board (Los Angeles Tourism) and Legends Global – and works to help the City maximize the economic benefits derived from out-of-town visitors whose spending contributes to the growth of the local economy. View more tourism.lacity.gov.
ABOUT LOS ANGELES CONVENTION CENTER
The Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC) is renowned internationally as a prime site for conventions, trade shows, and exhibitions. Owned by the City of Los Angeles and professionally managed by Legends Global, the LACC attracts over 2.5 million visitors annually. The facility is an integral economic component to the Southern California area, generating economic benefits through attendee direct and indirect spending and sustaining over 12,500 local jobs. The LACC also remains an enduring symbol of environmental sustainability and social responsibility and is proud to be a LEED® Gold certified facility. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn. For more information, please visit laconventioncenter.com.
ABOUT LOS ANGELES TOURISM & CONVENTION BOARD
Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board (Los Angeles Tourism) is the official, non-profit tourism promotion organization for the City of Los Angeles, and the ultimate resource for where to stay and play in the LA area. With its mission to improve the quality of life for all Angelenos through the economic and community benefits of tourism, Los Angeles Tourism is proud to represent over 1,000 Member businesses across the region who depend on travel and tourism for their livelihoods, including over 540,000 residents who work in tourism-related careers. For more information, visit discoverlosangeles.com, follow at facebook.com/DiscoverLosAngeles, or @discoverLA on X, Instagram and TikTok.
Los Angeles Convention Center Modernization & Expansion Project Rendering. Credit: Populous.
A U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance arrived in Pakistan for talks with Iranian officials aimed at shoring up a shaky ceasefire and paving the way for a permanent end to the fighting. It marks the first such meeting since the war began more than a month ago.
The ceasefire brokered by Pakistan still faces hurdles in the talks beginning Saturday, as Israel and Hezbollah militants have been trading fire along the border of southern Lebanon and Iran has set conditions before negotiations can begin.
The Iranian delegation arrived early Saturday in Islamabad, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who said on X that discussions will only take place if there is an Israeli ceasefire in Lebanon the release of blocked Iranian assets.
Hours earlier, President Donald Trump wished Vance good luck. “We’ll find out what’s going on. They’re militarily defeated.”
In Islamabad, the streets of a normally bustling capital were deserted Saturday as security forces sealed roads ahead of the talks.
Here is the latest:
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital which received the casualties said the Israeli airstrike hit a security point in the urban refugee camp of Bureij around in the predawn hours Saturday.
The deaths were the latest among Palestinians in the territory since a ceasefire deal last October that aimed to halt a more than two-year war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
While the heaviest fighting has subsided, Israeli forces have carried out repeated airstrikes and frequently fire on Palestinians near military-held zones, killing more than 730 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
The health ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. But it does not give a breakdown of civilians and militants.
Militants have carried out shooting attacks on troops, and Israel says its strikes are in response to that and other violations. Four Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday received the U.S. delegation lead by U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
The ministry said in a statement that Dar commended the U.S. commitment to achieving lasting regional and global peace and stability.
He expressed hope that the parties would engage constructively and reiterated Pakistan’s desire to continue facilitating efforts toward a lasting and durable resolution to the conflict.
The Lebanese National News Agency reported multiple Israeli strikes early Saturday in southern Lebanon, killing at least three people.
The three were killed when an airstrike hit and destroyed a residential building in Maifadoun town in the southern province of Nabatiyeh, according to the agency.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, said it fired a barrage of rockets that targeted a military facility in northern Israel.
Vance arrived in Islamabad at the head of a delegation that includes President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.
The Iranian delegation, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, was already in Islamabad.
Before departing for Pakistan, Vance warned Iran not to “play” the U.S. Hours later, Qalibaf said discussions would only take place if there is an Israeli ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of blocked Iranian assets.
The Iranian delegation is scheduled to meet with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at noon Saturday, according to the Tasnim news agency, which is close to the powerful Revolutionary Guard.
Iran’s negotiating team, chaired by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and includes Foreign Minister Abbas Arghchi, met late Friday with Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir.
The meetings come ahead of high-stakes talks between Iran and the U.S. in Islamabad which aim at reaching a permanent end of the war in the Middle East.
Pakistan’s government has set up a state-of-the-art media center to facilitate Pakistani and foreign journalists covering the talks between the United States and Iran, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.
Tarar told reporters the facility at the Jinnah Convention Center offers high-speed internet and a range of free services to support media coverage. Shuttle services have been arranged to transport journalists between the media center and a hotel in the city’s main shopping mall.
Pakistan has announced visa-on-arrival for journalists and official delegations traveling from the United States and Iran for the talks, which have been dubbed the “Islamabad talks.”
Inside the media center, rows of workstations equipped with laptops and charging points allow reporters to file stories. Large screens broadcast major domestic and international television channels. The facility also has designated areas for live stand-ups, press briefings and interviews.
The streets of Pakistan’s normally bustling capital were deserted Saturday as security forces sealed roads ahead of talks between high-level officials from Iran and the U.S. to end their nearly six-week war. Pakistani authorities urged Islamabad residents to stay inside, leading the city to look like it was under curfew.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance is leading the American delegation, which was expected to arrive before noon.
Iranian negotiators, headed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, arrived late Friday.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif the conflict was entering a “difficult phase” as the sides try to shift from a temporary pause in fighting to a more lasting settlement. He said they were at a “make-or-break” moment.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance disembarks from Air Force Two after arriving for talks with Iranian officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
People residing in an underground shelter pack up their belongings as they prepare to leave after the announcement of a two-week ceasefire agreement between Iran and the US, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Men inspect the damage to their home destroyed in an Israeli airstrike a day earlier in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A Lebanese civil defense worker looks upward near the site of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike a day earlier in central Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Displaced families extend their hands while waiting for donated food beside the tents they use as shelters after fleeing Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A Lebanese civil defense worker, right, stands with a resident at the site of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike a day earlier in central Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
