POPULOUS/ AEG

LACOEX (LA Convention and Exhibition Hall), designed by Populous

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — The L.A. Convention Center is primed for a facelift that will help connect it to the future Farmers Field football stadium, as well as giving the whole complex a tongue-twisting name change: LACOEX.

The Los Angeles Times reports that LACOEX is merely a short way of saying "convention center and exhibition hall", and that all of these plans were shown last night to a special council committee designated to oversee the convention center and stadium projects.

Presented by the international design company Populous, the new plans include replacing the old West Hall of the convention center and extending the center out over Pico Boulevard and towards where the stadium will be.

While some councilmembers reacted positively to the designs, councilman Ed Reyes was reportedly critical.

According to the Times, Reyes said he wanted to see a plan that would further benefit residents through more job creation and economic development.

“It’s an amazing moment and I feel like we’re letting it slip away," Reyes said. "You can’t ignore the people that pay our taxes, and they’re right on the other side of the freeway.”

Meanwhile ESPN reports that the expansion of the convention center will be completed before construction on the football stadium begins. The stadium's slotted to have 68,000 seats with the capacity to expand to 78,000 for popular events like the Super Bowl.

While AEG is paying for the stadium, the city is planning on issuing $275 million in bonds to pay for the new convention center, KTLA reported. Then, revenue generated by the two projects would be used to pay off that debt.

The plans for the football stadium as well as the convention center have taken great strides since April 2010 when rumors first surfaced that AEG and Casey Wasserman were working on a plan to build a stadium on the site of the Convention Center's West Hall.

In December 2010, AEG released renderings from three architecture firms competing to win the stadium design job and by February 2011, the stadium had it's name: Farmers Field.