Featured image credit: Torti Gallas + Partners

You’ve heard it’s not easy being green… but it isn’t cheap either. At least judging by the price tag on a huge revamp project headed to Exposition Park beginning later this year. In preparation for Los Angeles hosting the 2028 Summer Olympic games, the state of California has earmarked $351.5 million of its budget to introduce sweeping green infrastructure projects across the Exposition Park campus. The ambitious project will introduce almost six acres of green parks while increasing parking through underground structures. Green infrastructure, the implementation of planned environmental features, has been a focal point for the state in recent years. With the 2028 Olympics fast approaching, Exposition Park is poised to artfully deliver California’s promotion of green infrastructure to the watching eyes of the world.

The Numerous Attractions of Exposition Park

Photo credit: MikeJiroch

As it stands, Exposition Park is already one of the biggest draws for Angelenos because of its wide range of institutions. These include stadiums, museums, and parks spread across its 160-acre grounds. As of next year, the Exposition Park campus will boast the following attractions:

• The Alexander Science Center (LAUSD) School
• The BMO (LAFC) Stadium
• The California African American Museum
• The California Science Center
• The Los Angeles City Park and Recreation EXPO Center (with rose garden)
• The Los Angeles County Natural History Museum
• The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
• The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art (opening in 2025) 

Exposition Park is scheduled to hold a starring role in the 2028 Olympic games with multiple of its venues hosting events. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and BMO Stadium will be hosting athletics and the football finals respectively. Likewise, the Media Village will be stationed at the USC campus less than a mile up Exposition Boulevard. It will offer the world a steady look at the green infrastructure which the state is championing. 

Details of the Green Infrastructure Plan

Image credit: Torti Gallas + Partners

Under the drafted plans for Exposition Park, immense stretches of green infrastructure will run from the park on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Figueroa Street to the corner of Exposition Boulevard and Vermont Avenue. The plan also includes funding to install cyclist and pedestrian corridors to make travel in and out of the area easier. This follows recent news of the city’s intentions to keep the 2028 Olympics as free from automobile traffic as possible. But considering Exposition Park, even outside of the Olympics’ shadow, is an attraction unto itself, the plan will also introduce new charging stations for electric vehicles. The final cherry on top of the update is a central community space, serving to anchor Exposition Park with state-of-the-art amenities.     

A Desperate Need for Green Infrastructure

Surprisingly, the verdant lawns of Exposition Park are in desperate need of green infrastructure. It currently stands as a relatively lush island in a sea of baking asphalt. The neighborhoods surrounding Exposition Park muster less than an acre of green space for every 1,000 residents. To give you an idea of the bleakness of that statistic, the city of LA averages 3.3 acres of green space per 1,000 residents. And the national average sits at around 10 acres of green space for every 1,000 residents. 

Green infrastructure will offer area residents a reprieve from the urban heat island, even if they’ll still need to travel to Exposition Park for the full effect. The last several years of Exposition Park’s projects have focused on construction with little to no regard for green infrastructure. This ambitious project shows a marked change in course, introducing a pastoral, natural beauty to the campus’s innovation. 

The Current Status of the Project

Image credit: Torti Gallas + Partners

With the update needing to be completed before the 2028 Olympic games, California is already searching for the right team to develop the project. Current designs appear in the Exposition Park Master Plan which was approved in October 2020. Torti Gallas + Partners, AHBE | MIG, KPFF, Consensus, Sapphos, and Biederman Redevelopment Ventures developed the designs over the course of 4 years. With less than 4 years to go, development will need to move at white-knuckle speeds… especially for an LA production!