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With L.A. focused on fire, Convention Center expansion is in doubt

Faced by the huge task of reconstruction after the Parisade fire, the officials of Los Angeles City will not be able to supervise the large -scale expansion of the Downtown Concomputer Center in time for the 2028 Olympics. 。

Matt Zabo, a city administrative officer, the city’s top budget analyst, is a great care from the top manager of the Engineering Bureau, the Safety Bureau, and other institutions to promote the project by May 2028. He says that he needs.

This is no longer possible after the fire on January 7, after the estimated $ 350 million damage to the streetlights, recreational centers, libraries, and other urban infrastructure.

Before the fire, Sabo said in an interview, “We would have brought it very close,” to complete the expansion of the convention center by 2028. “After the fire, it became impossible.”

Mayor Karen Bus and the city council have the ultimate authority to decide whether to expand the convention center, which is lined up to hold Olympic events such as table tennis and fencing. The next steps of the project are as follows Discussions are scheduled On Tuesday, by the Council’s Economic Development Committee.

SZABO and Shislative Analyst Sharon TSO co -authored together Page 3 memo To summarize the situation, there are plans to provide city leaders a series of options to upgrade facilities in a short and long -term short -term and long -term next month.

“The project is suspended,” says a note, “To re -evaluate options and opportunities to expand LACC.”

SZABO said that he and other analysts are considering many possible strategies, such as starting construction, pause during the Olympics, and resuming the event. He said another possibility was to completely kill the project.

Bass representatives did not respond to the comment request.

Last year, the city council voted for expanding the convention center to spend up to $ 54 million for design, engineering, and other construction work. A multipurpose space. Most of $ 54 million is already spending, TSO stated by e -mail.

The completion date in May 2028 was established so that the Convention Center could be used as a venue during the Olympics and Paralympics. However, there is no need to expand the facility.

Monica Rodriguez, the only vote for spending $ 54 million last year, said he did not want to continue “after bad money.” In an interview on Monday, she said she was not surprised to hear that the expansion could not be completed by the deadline in 2028.

“The result is exactly what I predicted,” she said. “I say,” I will say that we can’t do it in time after this process, then we can’t do it in time. ” “

Convention center project cost is expected to exceed $ 1.4 billion. In their memo, SZABO and TSO stated that they have not yet negotiated the price of the city’s planning contract with APCLA, which is also known as AEG Plenary Conventions Los Angeles, a joint venture that supervises construction. Other contract conditions such as construction schedule have not been confirmed.

The city leaders, which consist of two structures, South Hall and West Hall, have enough space to attract nearby hotels and create a huge amount of tax revenue. I have been claiming for a long time. 。

Nerama Coscar, the president of the downtown business group Central City Sung, said that the extension could still occur before the Olympics.

“We talk about thousands of work and pay the work of Angelenos’s passion for the union,” she said. “We are very open in the stage [of construction]But I think there is a window for investing in this project. “

The city’s political leader paused in 2020 after the pandemic started in 2020. According to McOSKER, if the city stalls again, the project will be more expensive and more time -consuming.

“I don’t think it’s time to close the door now,” she said.

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