LA Clippers owner, Steve Ballmer, formed CAPPS LLC and bought The Forum from The Madison Square Garden Company clearing the way for a new stadium.
We are one step closer to a new stadium for the LA Clippers. After months of back and forth and legal mumbo jumbo between Steve Ballmer and The Madison Square Garden Company (owned by James Dolan), Ballmer formed CAPPSS LLC and purchased The Forum in order to clear the way for construction of the new arena.
The press release by the team states the transaction is still pending but should be finalized shortly. The purchase of The Forum will be $400 million in cash. The release notes that this is a huge step in the progress of the Clippers stadium in the City of Inglewood.
The Forum will still stand and will operate as a live-music venue as it has over the past several years.
Also in the release is the note that by owning both the new arena and The Forum, the team will be able to coordinate “programming between the two venues” and will help improve “traffic congestion around basketball games and concerts”.
Do you hear that Clipper Nation!? Fewer afternoon games! Let’s let out a collective cheer for that.
The purchase of The Forum has been rumored for a few weeks now after Dolan and MSG fought tooth and nail to prevent the building of the Clippers arena. Dolan was worried that the new arena might steal business from The Forum, among other issues.
Ballmer remained committed to building the arena though, stating “This is an unprecedented time, but we believe in our collective future. We are committed to our investment in the City of Inglewood, which will be good for the community, the Clippers, and our fans.”
With this roadblock out of the way, the team can begin the steps towards constructing the arena. We have already seen the designs for the privately funded arena and it looks spectacular. We’ll keep you posted on the construction as it begins. Before we know it, 2024 will be here and the team will have their own home.