{"id":259045,"date":"2025-09-27T15:24:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T15:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/259045\/"},"modified":"2025-09-27T15:24:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T15:24:14","slug":"we-just-finished-paying-off-the-convention-center-here-we-go-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/259045\/","title":{"rendered":"We just finished paying off the Convention Center. Here we go again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record \u2014 our City Hall newsletter. It\u2019s Noah Goldberg, with an assist from Rebecca Ellis, giving you the latest on city and county government. <\/p>\n

A majority of the Los Angeles City Council believed that an expansion of the L.A. Convention Center was absolutely necessary. <\/p>\n

The venue was losing out on event bookings to smaller cities like Anaheim and Las Vegas. But the expansion would be one of the most expensive publicly-financed projects in city history, and taxpayers would be paying down the debt for the next three decades. <\/p>\n

The year was 1985. The number one song on the Billboard Hot 100 list was \u2014 and it couldn\u2019t have been more apt \u2014 \u201cWe Built This City\u201d by Starship. <\/p>\n

That year, the council approved construction of the Convention Center\u2019s South Hall<\/a>, which Angelenos now know for its curving green facade facing the 110 Freeway. The project added hundreds of thousands of square feet of event space at a price tag of $310 million \u2014 though it ended up costing $500 million.<\/p>\n

Now, history seems to be looping around again in last week\u2019s debate<\/a> about another Convention Center expansion, this time across Pico Boulevard to link the center\u2019s two buildings. <\/p>\n

The City Council voted last Friday to move forward with a $2.6-billion expansion<\/a> that city budget advisers warned will draw taxpayer funds away from essential city services for decades. Any construction delays could endanger plans to host judo, wrestling and other Olympic competitions in 2028, triggering financial penalties if the venue isn\u2019t ready in time.<\/p>\n

In 1985, only Councilmember Joel Wachs<\/b> voted against the expansion \u2014 though he told The Times he couldn\u2019t remember the exact reason. It\u2019s been 40 years, after all.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat said, I\u2019m not at all surprised I opposed it … as I did other projects where I felt the city would be on the hook for untold costs with no real meaningful assurances of benefits that could possibly justify it,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Wachs said that barring any convincing arguments on the other side, \u201cI would also likely vote against it if I was on the council now.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1985, Wachs was concerned about the long-term effects of the Convention Center upgrade on the city\u2019s general fund. <\/p>\n

The South Hall was finished in 1993, and the city made a nearly $42-million payment the next year, continuing to pay between $13.1 million and $48.4 million a year until 2023. <\/p>\n

Just a few years after that old debt was finally paid off, the city is set to start payments on a similar project.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistory is repeating itself, because it\u2019s become necessary to compete with other convention centers around the world again,\u201d said Doane Liu, executive director of the city\u2019s Tourism Department. \u201cI\u2019m certain it was a hard decision to make in [1985].\u201d <\/p>\n

While debating the new expansion, some on the City Council wondered how the two projects matched up and whether the 1985 vote could provide guidance for the current moment. <\/p>\n

Councilmember Tim McOsker <\/b>asked City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo <\/b>to report on the cost of the 1985 expansion. <\/p>\n

McOsker compared the numbers, arguing that the annual payments were similar, if adjusted for the growth of the city\u2019s general fund over time. <\/p>\n

The city\u2019s first $42-million payment for the old expansion was about 1.7% of its $2.48-billion general fund. <\/p>\n

Payments for the new expansion ratchet up over a three-year period, starting with around $40 million in 2029, then jumping by 2031 to about $192 million a year until 2055. <\/p>\n

Each $192-million annual payment would be about 2.3% of the city\u2019s current general fund. <\/p>\n

The similarities go further than the general fund percentage, McOsker said, alluding to the nearly $1-billion deficit<\/a> that city officials recently faced.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know what else we had in \u201894-\u201995 and \u201895-\u201996? A $1-billion deficit that we were struggling with,\u201d he said at a council budget hearing on Sept. 16. \u201cIt was a tough time then, and I know that we may hear that maybe we shouldn\u2019t have done it, but we did do it, and 30 years later, we have a Convention Center that needs it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

But was it worth it?<\/p>\n

Former Councilmember Zev Yaroslavsky<\/b> has come to regret his vote in favor of the 1993 expansion. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think I did make a mistake,\u201d he said. \u201cI regret that I drank the Kool-Aid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yaroslavsky said the council was convinced in 1985 that the expanded convention center would generate enough revenue to pay off the bond issuance, and then some.<\/p>\n

But after 30 years of payments, Yaroslavsky said he saw no evidence that he and his fellow council members were correct.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat didn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

You\u2019re reading the L.A. on the Record newsletter State of play<\/p>\n

\u2014 FRESNO-NO: <\/b>Councilmember Ysabel Jurado <\/b>found herself in the crosshairs of Fresno politicians this week after she suggested that L.A. should not be ceding major events to the city. \u201cWe can\u2019t keep losing out to Fresno. Shakira ended her world tour in Fresno,\u201d she said at a press conference in which she voiced support for the Convention Center expansion. <\/p>\n

Fresno shot back. \u201cThere\u2019s no need to degrade or make fun of other cities that literally feed Angelenos by picking the fruits and vegetables sold at the DTLA markets daily,\u201d Fresno County Supervisor Luis Chavez <\/b>wrote on Instagram.<\/p>\n

\u2014 LAX DELAYS: <\/b>The Automated People Mover that will connect travelers between airport terminals and the Metro could be delayed even further, the CEO of LAX told The Times. The train, which was supposed to open in January 2026, may now be delayed until June 2026 or later<\/a>, imperiling the goal of opening in time for the World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u2014 NO LAYOFFS: <\/b>Mayor Karen Bass <\/b>announced Tuesday that the city has managed to avert all 1,650 layoffs<\/a> she proposed in April as part of her plan to close a nearly $1-billion deficit. Bass negotiated for months with labor unions, who made concessions to help stave off hundreds of the layoffs. Budget reductions from the City Council also helped save jobs. <\/p>\n

\u2014 BATHROOM POOH-POOHED: <\/b>The city\u2019s plan to install a bathroom<\/a> at popular hiking destination Runyon Canyon has come under fire from locals who worry it may bring unwanted smells and safety issues. Bass said the city has received requests from hikers for years asking for a bathroom in the park. The bathroom will be ready by summer 2026.<\/p>\n

CHIMP INFANT:<\/b> Two chimpanzees born at the L.A. Zoo<\/a> in August and September and are the first chimp births at the zoo in 11 years. They do not yet have names.<\/p>\n

DROPOUT: <\/b>Last week\u2019s newsletter mentioned Jake Rakov<\/b> as a congressional candidate; he dropped out<\/a> of the race earlier this month.<\/p>\n

QUICK HITS<\/p>\n