Final Environmental Impact Report
Project Description: The Applicants—the City of Los Angeles; L.A. Convention Hall,
LLC; and L.A. Event Center, LLC—propose the modernization of the Los Angeles Convention Center and the construction of a new multi-purpose Event Center on approximately 68 acres of land owned by the City of Los Angeles (described above). The Proposed Project would involve the demolition of the existing West Hall building, construction of a replacement hall (New Hall), the construction of the Event Center on the existing West Hall site, and the construction of two parking garages on Bond Street and L.A. Live Way. Under the Proposed Project, the Floor Area would increase by approximately 1.8 million square feet to a total of approximately 4.1 million square feet.
The New Hall would be of a similar size to the existing West Hall and would increase the amount of contiguous floor area available at the Convention Center. The Convention Center modernization also includes the renovation of existing floor area within the existing Concourse Building and South Hall, as well as the demolition of floor area within the South Hall, as needed, to connect the building with the New Hall (maximum height of 90 feet).
The Event Center would primarily function as the home venue for one or possibly two National Football League teams, as well as a venue to host a variety of other events, such as conventions, trade shows, and exhibitions; concerts; and other sporting events, as well as private and miscellaneous events. The Event Center (maximum height of 220 feet) would be configured with approximately 72,000 permanent seats, would be expandable to 76,250 seats, and would also be designed to be useable for Convention Center events or standalone exhibition events. During such events, the playing field area could be used for exhibit space, and the various clubs and suites at the Event Center could be used for exhibit space or as meeting rooms and pre-function and hospitality spaces, supplementing what is available at the Convention Center. The Event Center would also include offices, food and merchandise sales, restaurants, bars and clubs, and similar uses.
The parking garages would be constructed west of L.A. Live Way to replace the existing Bond Street Parking Lot, the existing Cherry Street Garage, and the parking that is currently located beneath the existing West Hall, and to provide additional parking to support the new on-site development. Existing parking at the Project site totals 5,558 parking spaces and would be increased to 6,670 parking spaces under the Proposed Project, with a net increase of
1,112 parking spaces.
The Applicant is requesting the following approvals from City of Los Angeles for development of the Proposed Project: General Plan Amendment; Vesting Zone
Change; establishment of the Convention and Event Center Specific Plan; Sign Supplemental Use District; Development Agreement; Amendment of the STAPLES Center Development Agreement; Amendment of the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment District Specific Plan; Amendment of the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment District Development Agreement; Vacation of air space; transactional agreements; Approval of Modified Street Designations; Design Review by the City’s Cultural Affairs Commission; Amendment of STAPLES Center
ground lease; Amendment or termination of the existing Reciprocal Easement Agreement; Approval of bond financings and refinancing; Caltrans approvals; Extension of construction hours; Haul Route Approval; and any additional actions that may be determined necessary.
