Story Snapshot: The Anime Expo economic impact has grown. From $55 million a decade ago. In 2026, it is estimated at $115 million. It spreads across Crypto.com Arena, L.A. LIVE, and a closed Figueroa Street. This trajectory signals growing regional spending on hospitality and events.
The convention is confirmed through 2027. However, a $2.6 billion convention center expansion and the 2028 Olympics leave open questions about what comes after. Analysts will monitor attendance and spending to gauge long-term effects. The evolving project plans could reshape its economic impact in coming years.
Every Fourth of July weekend, blocks around the Los Angeles Convention Center fill with crowds.
Additionally, this year the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation put a number on it.
The Anime Expo economic impact exceeded $115 million for local hotels, restaurants, and businesses, based on more than 422,000 admissions.
That figure has climbed steadily. SPJA reported “over $100 million” for 2023 and 2024, then “over $110 million” for 2025. In 2015, when the convention signed a five-year agreement with the convention center, Mayor Eric Garcetti put the annual impact at $55 million and projected 280,000 turnstile admissions.
The growth in attendance tells the same story.
Anime Expo’s own history records about 43,000 unique attendees when it moved to the Los Angeles Convention Center in 2008.
Moreover, this growth reflects the Anime Expo economic impact.
Turnstile counts, tallying daily attendance, rose from 392,000 in 2023 to 422,000 this year.
Spilling into the street
The convention center’s exhibit space stopped being enough some time ago. SPJA’s 2025 infographic put the Anime Expo campus at 661,254 square feet, with Artist Alley alone covering 127,456 square feet and 949 artists.
For 2026, the organization added Crypto.com Arena, The Novo, Peacock Place, and L.A. LIVE to the footprint, and closed Figueroa Street to make what it called a festival corridor connecting the venues. A J-pop concert played the arena. A Vocaloid concert played The Novo.
“This year’s Anime Expo is our largest and most expansive event to date,” SPJA CEO Ray Chiang said before the show. “AX 2026 reflects both the continued growth of the event and its increasing impact on Los Angeles.”
Mayor Karen Bass, quoted by the Rafu Shimpo, framed it in civic terms: “Los Angeles is proud to host Anime Expo at the L.A. Convention Center, showcasing the cultural impact of our Japanese community and their immense contributions to our city’s history.”
The year SPJA looked elsewhere
The relationship has not always been comfortable. Recent concerns focus on costs and venue delays.
In a July 2025 wrap-up, SPJA noted the Anime Expo economic impact while evaluating Los Angeles as the event’s home.
This mix of delays and costs shapes the ongoing dialogue around the Expo’s location.
“The Los Angeles Convention Center has been our home for more than 15 years, and we are deeply grateful to the city and community for their ongoing support,” Chiang said then. “However, our top priority has always been to deliver an exceptional experience for our attendees and partners.”
Two months later, on September 19, 2025, the Los Angeles City Council gave final approval to a $2.6 billion expansion and modernization of the convention center, according to Urbanize LA. Budget chair Katy Yaroslavsky and Councilmember Nithya Raman voted no, citing the projected general-fund cost of about $89 million a year over 30 years. The project broke ground October 1, 2025.
The plan adds 190,000 square feet of exhibit space, a 98,000-square-foot rooftop ballroom, and a bridge over Pico Boulevard connecting the West and South Halls. The convention center says it will remain fully operational during construction, with work concentrated behind the existing building. Pico Boulevard between Figueroa Street and L.A. Live Way is closed through March 2028.
The 2028 question
The expansion has a hard deadline built in. The convention center will host judo and gymnastics during the 2028 Olympic Games, and construction will pause from June through October 2028 while the facility is turned over to LA28. Final completion is scheduled for spring 2029.
Anime Expo has run over Fourth of July weekend at the convention center since 2008. SPJA has confirmed Anime Expo 2027 for July 2 to 5 at the convention center, with credentials on sale in early 2027. It has not said anything publicly about 2028, and none of the sources reviewed for this story address whether the Olympic turnover will affect that year’s convention.
What is clear is what the city stands to keep or lose. The convention center’s own projections for the expansion count on $150 million in additional annual visitor spending once it is complete. Anime Expo, by SPJA’s estimate, already delivers most of that in a single weekend.
Sources
- Anime Expo, 2026 wrap-up (July 10, 2026)
- Anime Expo, 2026 pre-show release (June 30, 2026)
- Anime Expo, 2025 wrap-up (July 2025)
- SPJA, AX 2025 infographic (PDF)
- Anime Expo, 2024 wrap-up (July 22, 2024)
- Anime Expo, 2023 wrap-up (Aug. 8, 2023)
- Anime Expo, “A Fond Look Back” (April 30, 2019)
- Los Angeles Convention Center, Anime Expo long-term agreement (June 23, 2015)
- Rafu Shimpo, “Ardent Fans Descend Upon 35th Anime Expo” (July 14, 2026)
- Urbanize LA, City Council approves $2.6 billion expansion (Sept. 22, 2025)
- Urbanize LA, expansion breaks ground (Oct. 2, 2025)
- Los Angeles Convention Center, Expansion FAQs
- Anime News Network, 422,000 turnstile attendees (July 11, 2026)
