Since Steve Ballmer bought the Clippers, he has wanted something his predecessor Donald Sterling never much cared about — getting out from under the shadow of the Los Angeles Lakers. (Well, Ballmer also cares more about winning than maximizing profits, another key difference.) As a marketing guy, Ballmer understands the challenge of the Clippers brand in a Lakers’ dominated market, and having a better team for a few years is not enough. Ballmer okayed putting up pictures of the Clippers in front of the Lakers’ championship banners and retired jerseys, but that’s just a band-aid.
What he needs, and what he’s wanted, is a new arena that is all Clippers. He is apparently closing in on that.
A correction to a previous tweet: Inglewood's City Council will meet Thursday to vote on the ENA for the Clippers arena.
— Nathan Fenno (@nathanfenno) June 14, 2017
Inglewood's City Council will meet Wednesday to approve an exclusive negotiating agreement for a new Clippers arena.
— Nathan Fenno (@nathanfenno) June 14, 2017
The arena property is near Century Avenue and Yukon Avenue. It's across the street from the Rams' 298-acre stadium development.
— Nathan Fenno (@nathanfenno) June 14, 2017
The ENA runs 36 months. The developers will give Inglewood $1.5M toward costs associated with the effort.
— Nathan Fenno (@nathanfenno) June 14, 2017
The arena would have 18,000 to 20,000 seats, include on-site parking and be "state of the art," according to the agreement.
— Nathan Fenno (@nathanfenno) June 14, 2017
An “exclusive negotiating agreement” means the deal is not done, but the two sides see enough in common that they are not going to talk to anyone else (the Clippers with other locations for the arena, for example).
As noted, this is next to where Stan Kroenke bought up the land of the former Hollywood Park horse racing track and is now building his new home for the Los Angeles Rams. Kroenke’s plans call for retail and residential (and possibly some office space) around the stadium, and a new arena to house the Clippers and other events certainly would fit in with that model. This is all just down the street from the Inglewood Forum, where the Lakers played back in the Showtime era.
The Clippers have seven more years on their lease at Staples Center, through 2024 (Staples opened in 1999). Getting this deal done, a building designed, and then built would take up most, if not all, of that time.
It’s a smart long-term move by the Clippers to shake the Lakers’ shadow. In the short term, a good one would be to sign LeBron James in 2018.