The Forum (Inglewood, California)

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The Forum
Location	3900 W. Manchester Blvd. Inglewood, California 90305
Broke ground	1965
Opened	1967
Owner	Faithful Central Bible Church, Forum Enterprises, Inc.
Operator	Spectacor Management Group
Construction cost	$16 million USD
Architect	Charles Luckman Associates
Former names
Great Western Forum (1988-2003)
Tenants
Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) (1967-1999) Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA) (1997-2000) Los Angeles Kings (NHL) (1967-1999) Los Angeles Lazers (MISL) (1982-1989) Los Angeles United (CISL) (1993)
Seats
Basketball: 17,505 Hockey: 16,005 Concerts: 18,000

The Forum, known for a time as the Great Western Forum, is an indoor arena in Inglewood, California owned by the Faithful Central Bible Church, which uses it for its Sunday morning service.

The Forum achieved its greatest fame as the home of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League from 1967 until 1999, when the teams moved to Staples Center.

The Forum was also the home of the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association from 1997 until they too moved to Staples Center in 2001.

It was the site of the 1972 and 1983 NBA All-Star Game, the 1980 NHL All-Star Game, and hosted the Big West Conference men's basketball tournament from 1983-1988 and also the 1989 Pacific Ten Conference men's basketball tournament.

Contents 1 History 1.1 1960s/70s 1.2 1980s 1.3 1990s 1.4 2000s 2 Reference 3 External links

[edit] History

[edit] 1960s/70s

The "Fabulous" Forum, as it would become colloquially known to locals^[1], was constructed by Jack Kent Cooke, owner of the Lakers and founding owner of the Kings, in 1967. The oval-shaped, $16 million structure was named for and designed to evoke the Roman Forum. The arena seats 17,505 for basketball, 16,005 for ice hockey, and up to 18,000 for concerts; it has no luxury suites, but held an unprecedented 2,400 club seats for events. In excess of 70 percent of the seats were located between the goals, and no seat is more than 170 feet from the playing surface.

The Forum became a landmark in the Greater Los Angeles Area, in large measure from the success of the Lakers and from the Hollywood celebrities often sighted in its audiences. It hosted a vast number of events such as tennis matches, rock concerts, boxing matches, ice shows, rodeos, and political events. It was sometimes referred to as the Los Angeles Forum to differntiate it from other buildings, venues and places carrying the name Forum.

In 1979, Cooke sold The Forum to Jerry Buss along with the Lakers and the Kings for a then-record $67.5 million.

[edit] 1980s

At the same time, the Lakers experienced a tremendous run of success in the 1980s, winning five NBA Championships and making the NBA Finals every year but two. This level of success raised The Forum's profile greatly across the sporting world, as fans became accustomed to watching playoff games and other important games played there by the Lakers.

In 1984, The Forum also found itself in an international spotlight, as it hosted the basketball tournaments of the 1984 Summer Olympics.

In 1988, Buss capitalized on all of this success by selling the arena's naming rights to Great Western Savings & Loan. The exterior of the building was repainted blue from the original dark orange or red, and the building was officially renamed the Great Western Forum, and that name was retained for several years, even after Great Western was acquired by Washington Mutual. Such naming rights deals have now become commonplace in major American sports, but were not at the time of Buss' deal with Great Western. Although there was some initial negative public reaction to the changing of the venue's historic name, that reaction was muted by the fact that the new name did not overtly reek of corporate sponsorship. In fact, Great Western Forum sounded so much like a natural name that many people, particularly among those outside the Los Angeles area, remained unaware that the name was the result of a naming rights deal.

[edit] 1990s

By the early 1990s, the arena was among the oldest used for professional sports. By the middle of the decade, it was regarded as too small, and more importantly, it lacked premium skyboxes and sufficient retail and commercial space. Los Angeles officials, seeking to redevelop that city's downtown area, began planning for a new sports arena and entertainment complex to be located there, with an eye toward wooing the Lakers and Kings away from Inglewood.

The Kings' owners (who did substantial business as real estate developers) agreed to develop the complex, eventually given the name Staples Center, and signed Buss on to move the Lakers into the new arena as a co-tenant with the Kings. The new arena was to open in the autumn of 1999 and, as part of this deal, Buss sold the Great Western Forum to L.A. Arena Co. (a company also owned by the Kings' owners).

[edit] 2000s

Blaming the Great Western Forum for low attendance, the Sparks made 2000 their last season in the venue and then followed the Lakers and Kings to Staples Center.

Faithful Central Bible Church, home to a predominantly African-American congregation numbering over 12,000, purchased the Great Western Forum at the end of 2000 and holds its regular service there each Sunday morning. The church makes the building available for rent (for concerts/sporting events/etc. that require that type of large venue) on other days. As such, ownership is held through the church's for-profit entity, Forum Enterprises, Inc., which continues to welcome to the arena mainstream and secular fare, including concerts by such artists as Madonna, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The venue also continues to be made available for film use, such as arena interior shots used in the 2002 film Like Mike. Rock band Foo Fighters also used the building in the video for the song "All My Life" in 2003, prominently featuring the outside architecture and name of the building in the opening and closing shots.

In 2003, Great Western's naming rights contract on the building expired, and Forum Enterprises reverted the venue's official name to the original The Forum. Despite this, and despite the fact that Great Western had in 1997 ceased to exist as a separate entity, the Great Western corporate logo and the letters forming the words GREAT WESTERN initially remained on the building's exterior. Great Western's exterior lettering was finally removed from the building in 2006.

The departure of the building's major sports teams has significantly lowered The Forum's profile, especially outside of the Los Angeles area. As a result, the Great Western Forum name is still frequently heard, as many people remain unaware that the original name has been restored.

[edit] Reference

↑  Heisler, Mark. Madmen's Ball: The Inside Story of the Lakers' Dysfunctional Dynasties (2004) ISBN 1-57243-681-6

[edit] External links

• The Forum's official web site
• The official web site of Faithful Central Bible Church

Preceded by Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 1960–1967

Home of the Los Angeles Lakers 1967–1999

Succeeded by Staples Center 1999–present

Preceded by Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena & Long Beach Arena 1967

Home of the Los Angeles Kings 1967–1999

Succeeded by Staples Center 1999–present