Clippers Might Relocate... To Inglewood (UPDATE: And A New Logo To Go With It)

[Ranma]

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[wco81]

Other NBA owners probably won't be too happy, especially if they planned to go ask for public money for new stadia.

[TucsonClip]

BUT BALLMER IS GOING TO MOVE THE TEAM TO SEATTLE

Some people need a few marketing and finance classes.

[MartinToVaught]

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In fairness, this isn't unprecedented. The San Francisco Giants did it seventeen years ago when they built AT&T Park. Kroenke's new stadium in Inglewood is going to be privately financed. So will the Warriors' new arena in SF. IIRC, the new Busch Stadium in St. Louis was almost entirely privately financed - the only areas where the city pitched in were infrastructure around the development site and a small tax on tickets.

It can be done, it just doesn't happen more often because most owners are either looking for a handout or legitimately can't afford to build one on their own.

[Quake Griffin]

Whoa...

Getting a new facility as well?
Can't wait for this thing to get built.




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[Ranma]

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[Ranma]

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[nickhx2]

they mad lol

[Ranma]

The Madison Square Garden Company should have sold the Forum to Ballmer when they had the chance. If and when Ballmer's arena comes to full realization, its business goes down the toilet with prospective customers more interested in going to the new state-of-the-art venue.

This should speed up the demolition of the Lakers' old stomping grounds, so at least we'd have that symbolic feather in our cap.

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[wco81]

That's the old Forum where the Lakers used to play?

It's still open for concerts or something?

[nickhx2]

ya

so a new state of the art facility replacing the old forum will take its business

[wco81]

Read somewhere that Ballmer said they will be in Staples until 2024. Maybe he could try to break the lease if they manage to start construction sooner than later, after any kind of legal disputes are settled?

It could be a good idea to bridge a winning team into the new arena, where I'm sure ticket prices will take a jump.

Otherwise, 7 years from now, it could be an entirely different team, both on the court and in the front office.

[Ranma]

I thought the same thing too but he'd potentially put himself in legal jeopardy if he announced that he planned to break his lease with Staples Center by leaving in 2023 a year before its expiration in 2024. Remember, Ballmer is currently negotiating with AEG about extending the team's lease or at least contingencies in case the Inglewood project is delayed indefinitely for whatever reason. His own public comments would be used against him in court proceedings where he'd be accused of not intending to fulfill his current legal commitments or is not negotiating in good faith.

Ballmer also mentioned before that he does not want to enter into talks with AEG regarding the team's Staples Center scheduling and lease without having the leverage of having an arena plan in his pocket. Now he has that leverage. The Inglewood project is not a sure thing at this point though it is very likely to happen, so in the meantime, it can be used to negotiate better future scheduled dates as well as serve as a backup plan if the primary objective of our own arena falls through.

Maintaining good relations could also help us negotiate a suitable early-termination option should the Inglewood project open in 2023. Otherwise, we'd risk adding another legal fight to our docket when our full attention and efforts should be put into exploring the realization of the Inglewood arena project. Just look at how the MSG Company is throwing a hissy fit upon our glorious announcement.

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[Captain Ballmer]

What an awasome day it was, 14th of June... Hallelujah!!

The day i started my 27th age, we got freaking "the logo" and have announced moving the team to our own place and there was another thing in my private life that to crown it all.

I'm just sooooo happy with Ballmer being the owner. We're always on the edges when it comes to owners

[WC NBA Fan]

@wco81

Yes, MSG bought the old Forum and renovated it for around $25 million. It's one of the top concert only facilities in the country. Personally, I don't think they will be effected that much. I could see Ballmer's place being host to in season college bball games, a conference tournament and maybe even NCAA tournament games along with WWE, MMA and Boxing while the Forum holds concerts.

@Ranma

Yes and I brought this up on another Clipper board as well. For legal reasons, Ballmer has to keep saying that he'll honor his lease during this ENA process. If all goes according to plan, he'll do his best to get the arena done by 2022 and buyout the last 2 years of the lease.

Buying out the lease makes all the financial sense in the world. He stands to make roughly an extra $20-$30 million more per season controlling the revenue in his own building while AEG stands to only lose around $10-$15 million and that's assuming they stay dark for every night the Clippers aren't there which won't happen because they'll easily fill at least 10 of those dates. Just come to a number between AEG's high end $15 million loss and Ballmer's low end $20 million gain and you have a deal. Make it $17.5 million or something. If they have the arena done by 2022, double $17.5 to $35 million since it will be 2 years early and get it done.

[Ranma]

@wco81

Yes, MSG bought the old Forum and renovated it for around $25 million. It's one of the top concert only facilities in the country. Personally, I don't think they will be effected that much. I could see Ballmer's place being host to in season college bball games, a conference tournament and maybe even NCAA tournament games along with WWE, MMA and Boxing while the Forum holds concerts.

I have a hard time thinking Ballmer will only be going after sporting events given the amount of money he'd invest in the project. As such, A-list performers will want to headline at the latest and greatest venue to imply that they're first-class events worth the money they'd be charging. That's just how Hollywood works (image and perception are priorities) and will especially be true 5-7 years from now. Of course, two sets of artists can play on the same night at the different venues, but would you really want to be the one competing against the draw of a newer facility?

That doesn't even take into account the increased traffic in the same area from Ballmer's newer arena whether it's a sporting event or concert, plus, whatever else the Rams' complex may be hosting. That would make it even more difficult for those who want to attend Forum gigs. Not to mention that they're all right next to LAX airport. Would that be something you want to deal with as an organizer?

Maybe MSG Company wants to negotiate with Ballmer about only holding sporting events for the first couple of years in exchange for letting his project proceed smoothly, but I don't get the impression that they're in a position to really stop the project despite their legal letter and vociferous protests.

[WC NBA Fan]

@wco81

Yes, MSG bought the old Forum and renovated it for around $25 million. It's one of the top concert only facilities in the country. Personally, I don't think they will be effected that much. I could see Ballmer's place being host to in season college bball games, a conference tournament and maybe even NCAA tournament games along with WWE, MMA and Boxing while the Forum holds concerts.

I have a hard time thinking Ballmer will only be going after sporting events given the amount of money he'd invest in the project. As such, A-list performers will want to headline at the latest and greatest venue to imply that they're first-class events worth the money they'd be charging. That's just how Hollywood works (image and perception are priorities) and will especially be true 5-7 years from now. Of course, two sets of artists can play on the same night at the different venues, but would you really want to be the one competing against the draw of a newer facility?

That doesn't even take into account the increased traffic in the same area from Ballmer's newer arena whether it's a sporting event or concernt, plus, whatever else the Rams' complex may be hosting. That would make it even more difficult for those who want to attend Forum gigs. Not to mention that they're all right next to LAX airport. Would that be something you want to deal with as an organizer?

Maybe MSG Company wants to negotiate with Ballmer about only holding sporting events for the first couple of years in exchange for letting his project proceed smoothly, but I don't get the impression that they're in a position to really stop the project despite their legal letter and vociferous protests.

I'll clarify a bit. I'm not suggesting that Ballmer's arena will have ZERO concerts but rather that there won't be enough concerts to really make the Forum start losing money or be an overall unsuccessful venture. If it's really that big a deal to them then they always have the option of selling the land and the Forum to Ballmer in which case he would tear it down then build a better arena in it's place. In the meantime, they still have a few years to max out as many concerts before Ballmer starts getting close to buyout his lease at Staples time.

[Akklaim1]

Remember when AEG was thinking about not renegotiating with the Clippers when the first lease was about to expire in the mid-2000s? AEG said thar concerts would generate more revenue than Clipper games. Can you imagine how Ballmer would've responded to that?

[MartinToVaught]

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[Ranma]

I have to say that Inglewood's handling of matters is really shady. I want our own arena but I've already had some concerns over the surrounding area and the logistics it would entail. In any case, I hope something can be worked out amicably and legally where the Clippers buy out the Forum to move forward with the project.

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