Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass gathered with several other local leaders Monday in Exposition Park to announce funding for renovations, infrastructure improvements, public safety upgrades and other projects.

“Los Angeles is about to enter the most intensive — and exciting — three-year period of major sporting events that any city in the world has ever experienced, and these investments will ensure that Angelenos continue to benefit from these events for decades to come,” Mayor Bass said, according to the website of the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office. 

This funding stems from California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed state budget for fiscal year 2026–27, which allocates $96.5 million for improvements and renovations of Exposition Park, with an additional $1 million in funding secured by Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove of California, including parts of Exposition Park.

“These upgrades to Expo Park are essential as we welcome the world for the Olympics and Paralympics and World Cup,” said California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot in an article on the city website. “Just as important, these upgrades also improve the safety and usability of the Park for Angelenos who need it to get outdoors.”

According to an article on the mayor’s office website, Mark Wilson, President and CEO of the Coalition for Responsible Community Development, a non-profit aimed at improving quality of life in South Central L.A., said these renovations will create jobs for the community and enable community members to take pride in contributing to the transformation of Exposition Park.

Ricardo Mendoza, chief business development officer of CRCD, said in an interview with the Daily Trojan that the city will ensure that South Central L.A. residents and USC students benefit from the renovations by informing them of their impacts and offering small businesses the chance to get involved through bidding on contracts. 

“If the project becomes a project that has labor components tied into it, then there’s the opportunity for contractors to hire locally based on the different training programs that are available throughout the region. Ours being one of a few,” Mendoza said. 

Mendoza said that the park was built for Angelenos, and the goal of the renovations is to continue to create a more welcoming environment for the community, students and anyone who lives in the city.

“It’s an added benefit that we have world class institutions and facilities there and around us, but it really is built for the community,” Mendoza said. “Beyond 2028, the real goal and the optimism is to have added green space with a new park that will be built right next to BMO Stadium, and added parking for students, for residents and for anyone that’s visiting the park.”

According to Mendoza, the construction will likely work  around key timelines such as the USC football season to minimize the hindrances that construction may cause.

Andrea Ambriz, the general manager of Exposition Park, said these investments will transform Exposition Park into a premier global destination, ready to host the world and create over 300 jobs, according to the article on the mayoral office’s website. 

“Exposition Park is the backyard of Los Angeles, and will be ready to be the front yard to the world by 2028,” Ambriz said.