Advertisement
Tourism
LifestyleTravel & Leisure

How Downtown LA went from best avoided to accessible sports hub as World Cup fans descend

As World Cup visitors arrive, Downtown Los Angeles has shed its rough reputation, becoming a walkable sports and cultural centre

4-MIN READ4-MIN
Listen
An area of Downtown Los Angeles at sunset with the Crypto.com Arena in the foreground. DTLA has transformed in recent years from a place to be avoided to a walkable entertainment hub perfect for sports fans. Photo: Moxy + AC Hotels DTLA
Lisa Cam

Los Angeles is a shimmering dream factory of Hollywood boulevards and palm trees silhouetted against powder-pink sunsets. The American city is also famous for its wonderfully wacky culture that has given the planet everything from space-age architecture to US$21 smoothies at organic supermarket Erewhon.

But for the slew of sports fans who will descend upon the city for the Fifa World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics, the question remains: is Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) safe?
For decades, DTLA carried baggage. To many travellers, it conjured images of the devastating 1992 riots and Skid Row, long the United States’ epicentre of homelessness. For international visitors accustomed to Hollywood’s gloss, DTLA felt like a place you avoided.

But a remarkable transformation is under way. And according to Steve Choe, the dual general manager of the Moxy Downtown Los Angeles and the AC Hotel Downtown Los Angeles hotels, the narrative has flipped. It is now one of the most walkable parts of Los Angeles.

Steve Choe, the dual general manager of the Moxy Downtown Los Angeles and the AC Hotel Downtown Los Angeles, says DTLA has been transforming in recent years.
Steve Choe, the dual general manager of the Moxy Downtown Los Angeles and the AC Hotel Downtown Los Angeles, says DTLA has been transforming in recent years.

He argues that beneath the clichés, the real LA has quietly built a side that most tourists never see. And for the growing wave of international sports fans arriving for the World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics, they say this hidden Downtown is one of the city’s great charms.

Advertisement
Select Voice
Select Speed
1.00x