Rumors first surfaced over the winter that the Clippers were looking to leave their shared space at the Staples Center for a dedicated basketball arena attached to the Rams and Chargers football stadium that's under construction in Inglewood. While the second half of that rumor hasn't panned out, the first part came one step closer to reality on Thursday.
The Inglewood City Council unanimously approved an exclusive negotiating agreement with the Clippers to explore the construction of an 18,000 to 20,000-seat arena. Under the terms of the agreement, the Clippers-controlled developer Murphy's Bowl LLC has an exclusive three-year window to devise plans for the site and draft an environmental impact report. In return, Inglewood will receive a $1.5 million deposit.
Unlike initial reports, the arena would not be built as part of the football stadium project, but rather on a 22-acre plot of city-owned land just to the south, bounded by Century Boulevard, Yukon Avenue, 104th Street and Prairie Avenue.
If you're asking yourself, "Now wait a minute, isn't there already a perfectly fine arena just up the street in Inglewood?" you're absolutely right. Indeed, the proposed arena would reside less than a mile away from the recently rehabbed Forum. The Forum, as you might guess, isn't very pleased. According to the L.A. Times, the Forum accused the city of backroom dealing and questioned the legality of its agreement with the Clippers. It also turns out that the Clippers had initially approached the Forum about building the team's arena in the venue’s parking lot, but those talks fell through.
For now, expect the team to stay Downtown when the season starts up again in the fall; the Clippers' lease at the Staples Center runs through 2024.
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