Los Angeles closes doors on an era of Clippers history
Goodbye Los Angeles Sports Arena, as the Los Angeles Clippers first home closes forever.
The Los Angeles Clippers once called the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena home for 15 years, but the arena officially closed its’ doors on Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
Clippers fans do not have a lot of great memories in their first Los Angeles home. They only made the playoffs three-times during their 1984-99 residency at the Sports Arena.
Only one of those seasons did the Clippers actually finish with above a .500 winning percentage. Neither did they advance past the first round in any of those postseason appearances.
Die-hard Clippers fans will recall forward Charles Smith, guard Mark Jackson and forward Danny Manning as some of the most prominent players during that era.
However, there were certainly more lowlights than highlights in the Sports Arena. Spurs center David Robinson scored 71 points on the Clippers home court during the final game of the1993-94 season. He went on to win the scoring title that year.
Also, the Clippers did a lot of losing in this building including one of the top-three worst losing percentages ever. They premiered some No. 1 draft picks here too. Otherwise, former owner Donald Sterling also did Sterling-isk things.
Over the years, the Sports Arena earned a reputation as dump. It lacked the necessary luxury boxes and suits, so it lingered in the shadows of the more modern Inglewood Forum and Staples Center.
NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley even called the Sports Arena, “positively a dump,” once.
Now, the historic arena will get demolished next month to make room for a modern stadium, which will become home to the new Los Angeles Football Club. A venture Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson is a part of.
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After 57 years housing L.A. sports and concerts, the Arena is remembered for holding the 1960 Democratic Convention, some Olympics events, and the biggest concerts including Bruce Springstein and Madonna.
Besides the Clippers, the Lakers, Kings, UCLA Basketball and USC Basketball teams all lived here at one time. The arena existed next to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Exposition Park.
Members of the media and community gathered for one last champagne toast and national anthem, before the Arena officially closed its’ doors.
Clippers fans may or may not be happy to see it go. Either way, it represents a historic era for the Clippers franchise.
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