The city of Los Angeles is considered the mecca of the entertainment world, providing venues for the largest music festivals and film premieres, and for the next three years, will continue to host the annual geek’s paradise that is the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3.
On July 30, the Entertainment Software Association named Los Angeles the continued home of their trademark fair, E3, the largest gaming convention in the world, after coming to an agreement with sports and entertainment company Anschutz Entertainment Group.
Although E3 has been held at the Los Angeles Convention Center since its inception back in 1995, it was almost relocated to a different venue and city due to the future construction of the Anschutz group’s stadium, Farmer’s Field, which is estimated to be completed by 2016 and is projected to house an NFL team.
In order to make room for the stadium, construction and remodeling is required within the Los Angeles Convention Center, calling for the demolition of the center’s West Hall. A replacement hall will be constructed closer to the South Hall in the coming years, but it was feared that this temporary decrease in space would influence the Entertainment Software Association’s decision to support E3 at its traditional venue in Los Angeles.
However, Michael Gallagher, CEO of the association, said in a statement that this is not the case.
“(Entertainment Software Association) supports (Anschutz Entertainment Group’s) mission and vision for downtown Los Angeles and the areas surrounding the Los Angeles Convention Center,” Gallagher said. “We appreciate (Anschutz Entertainment Group’s) willingness to work in partnership with our organization to not only create a construction schedule to accommodate the needs of our guests but also their commitment to incorporate many of our suggestions into the design of the new venues.”
Now that a deal has been brokered, video game fans and the city of Los Angeles can continue to enjoy the breaking gaming news and revenue that E3 garners each year, and can also look forward to 2013’s E3, which was recently announced to take place June 11 -13.