The Boston Celtics celebrated both the 19 championships in the arena, the latter of which marked the final games Bill Russell ever played. More than 70% of the seats are between the goals, and no seat is more than 170 feet (52 m) from the playing surface.ĭuring the Cooke era, the Forum hosted five NBA Finals in its first six years (1967–73). The arena seats 17,505 for basketball, 16,005 for hockey and up to 18,000 for musical concerts although it has no luxury suites, it had 2,400 club seats for events. The round, $16 million building was designed by Los Angeles architect Charles Luckman to evoke the Roman Forum. According to Springer, "Cooke went to Inglewood and built the Forum. Cooke won the franchise, paying $2 million for the Los Angeles club, which he called the Kings. Nearly 30 years later, Cooke told Los Angeles Times sportswriter Steve Springer that he remembered "one official representing the commission laughing at him" when Cooke said he would build in Inglewood. In response, Cooke planned to build a new arena in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood. The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission, which operated the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, supported a competing bid headed by Los Angeles Rams owner Dan Reeves-who already had a hockey team at the Arena, the Western Hockey League's Los Angeles Blades-and told Cooke that if he won the franchise, he would not be allowed to use the facility. In 1966, the NHL announced that it was adding six new franchises for 1967, and Cooke prepared a bid. The Canadian Cooke, who enjoyed ice hockey, was determined to bring the NHL to Los Angeles. On the site of a former golf course, the "fabulous" Forum (as it was colloquially known to locals) was built in 1967 by Jack Kent Cooke (owner of the Lakers and founding owner of the Kings). Forum to distinguish it from other places with the name "Forum". The arena is formally known as The Forum, and has previously been known as the Great Western Forum and nicknamed the "Fabulous Forum" by Lakers announcer Chick Hearn. On March 24, 2020, Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer purchased The Forum from MSG for $400 million. On September 24, 2014, the Forum was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2012, the Forum was purchased by the Madison Square Garden Company (MSG), owners of Madison Square Garden, for $23.5 million MSG announced plans to renovate the arena as a world-class concert venue. The Forum was acquired in 2000 by the Faithful Central Bible Church, which used it for occasional church services and leased it for sporting events, concerts, and other events. The venue also hosted tennis and boxing matches, as well as major music concerts and political events.
It was the site of the 19 NBA All-Star Games, the 1981 NHL All-Star Game, 1984 Olympic basketball, and the Big West Conference (from 1983 to 1988) and 1989 Pacific-10 Conference men's basketball tournaments. Īlongside Madison Square Garden in New York City, The Forum was once one of the best-known indoor sports venues in the U.S., largely due to the Lakers' success and the Hollywood celebrities often seen there. This had previously been unheard of in an indoor arena the size of the Forum. Architect Charles Luckman's vision was brought to life by engineers Carl Johnson and Svend Nielsen, who were able to engineer the structure so that it had no major support pillars.
Opening on December 30, 1967, the Forum was an unusual and groundbreaking structure.
The Forum was also the home of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks from 1997 to their 2001 move to Staples Center. The Forum achieved its greatest fame as home to the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1967 to 1999, when both teams joined the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers (who had played at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena) at the new Staples Center. Located between West Manchester Boulevard, across Pincay Drive and Kareem Court, it is north of SoFi Stadium and the Hollywood Park Casino, about 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The Forum is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Inglewood, California, United States, adjacent to Los Angeles.