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The Los Angeles Clippers new practice facility has finally been completed. The Clippers have been one of the few teams in the league without a true home for the players. That's all changed with their state of the art building in Playa del Rey.

To date, the team has held practices at a Spectrum Club in Manhattan Beach and held their training camp in Santa Barbara.

Next week they'll open their doors to the media and then begin camp in Playa.

For the casual fan (or detractor) who might suggest the team would be better served moving out of Los Angeles (to Orange County or beyond) to get out from under the shadow of the LA Lakers, the Clippers are absolutely committed to staying in town. They have a lengthy lease at STAPLES Center and are firmly entrenched in Playa del Rey.

The team has yet to make an official announcement regarding the practice facility.

cinnamon wrote:.
I'm really glad that the guys have this terrific place to train in.
Do we know whether any of them are there training yet?

.

A Gym of Their Own
Actually, it's a lot more than a gym for the Clippers.

Took a tour of the Clippers' shiny new training facility last week in Playa Vista -- a few jump shots from LAX -- with Andy Roeser, the team's executive vice president, who is proud of the estimated $50-million project, and rightly so.

No longer will the lack of their own home hurt the Clippers, who formerly used the Spectrum Club South Bay in El Segundo for training purposes. Now this is no cheap shot at the Spectrum Club -- I'm fairly sure it's a lot nicer than my modest health club -- but the Clippers were guests, not owners.

The two-level facility houses the basketball staff and the video/Internet operation on the upper level while the downstairs is devoted to the players and includes two courts and state-of-the-art rehabilitation equipment.

Maggette's other comments -- in the blog of my former Times colleague and current San Jose Mercury News columnist Tim Kawakami -- included complaints about watching film in his Clippers days for "45 minutes before practice." That made me chuckle after having spotted the showpiece theater room (pictured above) in the Clippers' new home last week.

There's a big screen and 25 comfortable seats. All that's missing is the popcorn.

"Where Mike [Dunleavy] does his teaching, sits down, breaks down film and goes over it with players," Roeser said. "This was where he wanted to have a place where he could teach players right off the court."

Sadly, just one season too late for Maggette.

mkwest wrote:

A Gym of Their Own
Actually, it's a lot more than a gym for the Clippers.

Took a tour of the Clippers' shiny new training facility last week in Playa Vista -- a few jump shots from LAX -- with Andy Roeser, the team's executive vice president, who is proud of the estimated $50-million project, and rightly so.

No longer will the lack of their own home hurt the Clippers, who formerly used the Spectrum Club South Bay in El Segundo for training purposes. Now this is no cheap shot at the Spectrum Club -- I'm fairly sure it's a lot nicer than my modest health club -- but the Clippers were guests, not owners.

The two-level facility houses the basketball staff and the video/Internet operation on the upper level while the downstairs is devoted to the players and includes two courts and state-of-the-art rehabilitation equipment.

Maggette's other comments -- in the blog of my former Times colleague and current San Jose Mercury News columnist Tim Kawakami -- included complaints about watching film in his Clippers days for "45 minutes before practice." That made me chuckle after having spotted the showpiece theater room (pictured above) in the Clippers' new home last week.

There's a big screen and 25 comfortable seats. All that's missing is the popcorn.

"Where Mike [Dunleavy] does his teaching, sits down, breaks down film and goes over it with players," Roeser said. "This was where he wanted to have a place where he could teach players right off the court."

Sadly, just one season too late for Maggette.

Lisa Dillman, LA Times

GuyverX wrote:What kind of security is this...the guard is sleeping!

Somebody call Sterling.