The Inglewood City Council has approved the environmental report for the LA Clippers’ new arena.
The LA Clippers came one step closer to having a home of their own recently when the environmental report for their new arena was approved by the Inglewood City Council.
The unanimous approval came seven months after the completion of the proposal paving the way for construction to begin on the billion-dollar complex by mid-2021. The Clippers’ new 18,000 seat arena is set to be ready for the start of the 2024-25 NBA season.
The announcement comes just a few months after LA Clippers’ owner Steve Ballmer and CAPPS LLC purchased The Forum for $400 million to help make the construction of their new, privately-funded arena a little bit easier.
“I want to boldly tell you our vision for this arena,” Ballmer said in a 13-minute video used in the presentation. “We want to simply make it the single greatest place in the world for basketball. A basketball palace with no peer.”
Exciting words from an owner who has continuously shown he’s willing to use his considerable resources to do what it takes to make the LA Clippers a premiere organization in all of professional sports. Ballmer also pledged that the team will commit $100 million in community benefits toward the city of Inglewood while also ensuring their plan for their new home will bring traffic and jobs to the area without contributing to gentrification in the surrounding areas.
“At various times, both the team and the city have been seen as underdogs and even counted out by the critics,” Ballmer said. “Well, that sure hasn’t been right for Inglewood and it sure not right now for the Clippers.”
It is certainly an exciting time for LA Clippers basketball. The team is currently one of the favorites to win the 2019-20 NBA championship and has the resources to keep the core of that roster together for the next few years. Their owner has shown that he is willing to do whatever it takes to make the team not just relevant, but the class of the NBA and professional sports.