The City of Los Angeles will issue a major $352 million upgrade to Exposition Park in its build-up to the 2028 Olympic Games in an effort to address spatial inequalities in neighborhoods that had been “historically left behind,” Governor Gavin Newsom’s office said at the August 1st announcement.

In order to help mitigate the effects of an urban heat island in one of California’s most park-deficient and densely populated areas, the project will install a new six-acre green space and underground parking structure. Residents of the surrounding neighborhoods in South LA will benefit from the incorporation of other state-of-the-art amenities like EV charging stations and a new community space after asphalt surface parking areas are removed from its southeast corner. The announcement noted this area is currently underserved with only about 1 acre of green space available per every 1,000 persons, which is about ten times less than the national average.

California's Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot says: “Through it, history will be made. A new urban park will give underserved Angelenos access to the outdoors for generations to come, and green infrastructure will take the global stage as the Olympics come to Los Angeles, reflecting California’s commitment to climate action.”

The already underway transformation of the 160-acre park includes the new MAD-designed Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and Natural History Museum extension from Frederick Fisher and Partners. As an official venue of the 2028 Olympics, the park will host the Diving and Track & Field competitions and the main Press village. LA has been criticized of late as being in need of aesthetic enhancements to go along with the massive slate of transportation infrastructure upgrades that are now lagging in the funding pipeline.

The Exposition Park design-build is being funded through bonds issued by the Public Buildings Construction Fund.