Los Angeles Convention Center

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

The Los Angeles Convention Center is a large convention hall in downtown Los Angeles, California. It sits at 1201 South Figueroa Street, close to Pico Boulevard, and is a key venue for shows, meetings, and events.

Size and layout
- The center has about 720,000 square feet of exhibition space and 147,000 square feet of meeting space, plus a 299-seat theater.
- It includes about 5,600 parking spaces.
- The north and south halls are used for large shows, while the Annex on Pico Boulevard adds extra space.

History and design
- The building opened in 1971 and was designed by architect Charles Luckman.
- It was expanded in 1981, 1993, and 1997.
- In 1997, the northeast part was torn down to make way for the Staples Center.
- The Annex, built on the south side of Pico, was designed by James Ingo Freed.
- In front of the center is the Gilbert Lindsay Plaza, named after a longtime Downtown LA councilman.
- A 10-foot monument honoring a local leader was added in 1995. The center weathered a tornado in 1983, which caused roof damage that was repaired.

Green certification and plans
- In 2008, the center became LEED-certified for Existing Buildings, showing energy efficiency and environmental care.
- In 2013, Anschutz Entertainment Group began managing the center.
- A major expansion project, called LACOEX, plans to connect a new convention hall to the south hall.
- In September 2025, the city approved the expansion, which is expected to cost about $2.2 billion and add 190,000 square feet of exhibit space, 55,000 square feet of meeting rooms, and 95,000 square feet of multipurpose space. The target completion is around 2029, with timing aligned to future Olympic activity.

Olympics and sports
- The center is planned to host five sports during the 2028 Summer Olympics: fencing, taekwondo, table tennis, judo, and wrestling. It will also host wheelchair fencing, boccia, and goalball during the Paralympics.
- It will be part of the downtown Olympic activity area and feature a live site along Figueroa Street.

Events and uses
- The center hosts yearly events such as the Los Angeles Auto Show, the Abilities Expo, and Anime Expo.
- Grammy Week events are held there, and MusiCares Person of the Year tribute has taken place there since 2005.
- The pre-telecast portion of the Grammys was held nearby at times, until 2013 when it moved to another venue.
- In 2021, due to the pandemic, the Los Angeles Sparks played some home games at the center.
- The center was a frequent site for the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) between 1995 and 2019, with exceptions in 1997, 1998, and 2007. E3 ended in 2023 amid industry changes.

Art and filming
- The building is known for its large terrazzo maps in the lobby floors, created by artist Alexis Smith in 1993: a world map in the main lobby and a map of the constellations in the upstairs lobby.

Today
- The Los Angeles Convention Center remains one of the largest venues of its kind in the United States and continues to host major events, film shoots, and Olympic-related activities as the city plans for the future.