AEG, the company that owns LA Live, the Staples Center, the Kings, the JW Marriott/Ritz-Carlton, all of South Park basically, has just been handed the keys to the Los Angeles Convention Center. For the first time ever (42 years), the city is transferring management of the facility to a private company (but will hold onto ownership); the City Council approved the deal yesterday. AEG will be paid $250,000 a year "and would qualify for another $250,000 if it meets agreed-upon performance measures," reports the LA Times. As the Daily News describes it, "The city is seeking to turn around the fortunes of the convention center, a money loser and an ill-designed space that has failed to attract big-name conventions. The hope is that an outside operator will be able to boost revenues." The city hopes to draw 50 percent more visitors by 2020, bringing in more shoppers and diners and hotel guests and boosting revenues all around. Unsurprisingly, local hoteliers are not super pleased with the deal; they "said AEG would have an unfair advantage filling its hotel rooms while booking conventions," reports the LA Times. (The city says the LA Tourism & Convention Board, independent from AEG, would mostly handle bookings.)
· L.A. votes to let AEG run Convention Center [LAT]
· AEG Will Probably Run Convention Center, Have Total South Park Domination [Curbed LA]
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