Los Angeles has long sought to woo Comic-Con, the blockbuster annual pop-culture convention, away from San Diego.
It hasn’t succeeded so far, but made progress this week, with city leaders announcing that WonderCon, a smaller convention organized by Comic-Con parent Comic-Con International, will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center next March.
The convention has been held in Anaheim for the past four years, including over this past Easter weekend. In a statement Monday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said WonderCon would “set the precedent for future successful Comic-Con events in L.A.”
“Los Angeles is honored to have been selected as the destination for WonderCon 2016,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement. “We look forward to establishing a long-term partnership with Comic-Con International, the presenter, and helping them establish a home-base in L.A.”
WonderCon, which was founded 28 years ago, was originally held at the Oakland Convention Center until 2003 when it moved to the Moscone Center in San Francisco before relocating to Anaheim.
The projected total economic impact of WonderCon for L.A. is over $32 million dollars over a three-day period. Comic-Con Spokesman David Glanzer did not immediately return a request for comment.