E3 staying in LA through 2015

Los Angeles, California will continue its run as the host city for the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo through 2015, the Entertainment Software Association announced today. The organizing body also announced that E3 2013 will take place on June 11-13 at the Los Angeles Convention Center and surrounding venues.

Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said he was actively involved in negotiations to keep E3 in the southern California city. "My office was committed to doing whatever it took to keep the largest annual conference that the city hosts here for another three years," he said in a statement.

The annual gaming gala has been held in Los Angeles for 16 of its 18 years of existence. Other host cities have included Santa Monica, California (2007) and Atlanta, Georgia (1997).

The new three-year agreement with the ESA and the city of Los Angeles also makes sure that E3 will "continue as scheduled" during the major construction plans for downtown LA, including groundbreaking on the new Farmers Field.

In June, ESA president Michael Gallagher said E3 might relocate in 2013 if issues over the construction were not resolved. At the time, he said "if we can't resolve them, we are preparing to go elsewhere." The ESA did not identify which locations it was scouting for a possible move for E3, but San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and New Orleans were reportedly candidates.