What coronavirus? Steve Ballmer buys The Forum in Inglewood for $400m so he can build a new Clippers area

[Dan Druff]

Weird and complicated story, but here it is:

The Clippers and Lakers have played in the same arena -- Staples Center (in downtown LA) for two decades.

The Clippers want their own arena, and owner Steve Ballmer wants to build one in Inglewood. Inglewood is the location where the Lakers used to play, at The Forum.

And while Ballmer is buying The Forum, he doesn't plan for the Clippers to play there.

Confused yet?

See, MSG (yes, THAT MSG, owned by James Dolan) cried foul about the planned new Arena. They currently own The Forum, and claimed that the new Clippers arena will violate a non-compete agreement they have with Inglewood.

No NBA basketball has been played at The Forum since the Lakers left 20 years ago, but MSG argued that other events held at the new Clippers arena would compete with them.

Ballmer finally got tired of it, and agreed to buy The Forum from MSG for $400m, clearing the way to build their arena, since there will be no more competition.

Dolan did really well. He bought the run-down Forum for $23.5 million in 2012, and then spent about $75m renovating it. Now he's selling it for $400m, quadrupling his money. If only he were this good at running the Knicks!

I don't understand why Ballmer was so obsessed with building in Inglewood. It's a lousy area, and he could have built in another city without having to cough up $400m for the Forum (which isn't worth it).

I guess money is no object with that guy.

[lol wow]

cant wait for sad face ballmer emojis when people yell at him for gentrifying fuck the clippers

[lol wow]

also he spent 75 million renovating it in 2018 yikes i saw some concert there last year and it was not great old stevey balms got fleeced

[lol wow]

but he did bring us windows 2000 yall

[lol wow]

can we sidebar this todge are the lakers fucking built to withstand this i assume jeanie and co spend everything they make there might not be a rainy day fund

[Dan Druff]

also he spent 75 million renovating it in 2018 yikes i saw some concert there last year and it was not great old stevey balms got fleeced

Actually it might have been $50 million in 2012. I've seen two different figures.

But yeah it's still a dump.

[Dan Druff]

can we sidebar this todge are the lakers fucking built to withstand this i assume jeanie and co spend everything they make there might not be a rainy day fund

Lakers are super profitable now and everyone is optimistic about their future. AD is happy there and Lebron may be able to squeeze a few more good years out.

They can get a loan or investors if necessary.

[lol wow]

i get that dummy but its like the only family business in the nba and im gonna assume theyve leveraged themselves to the hilt on their current valuation meeting payroll without checks coming in i feel like they could fuck this up

[lol wow]

like low key jeanie could be a marc davis motherfucker and well just become aware of it in the next couple 3 months

[lol wow]

obv shoutout to her 90s playboy spread out of respect

[Hockey Guy]

obv shoutout to her 90s playboy spread out of respect

Jeannie Buss was in Playboy? Am I reading this correctly?

[lol wow]

welcome to la son

[Jayjami]

I don't understand why Ballmer was so obsessed with building in Inglewood. It's a lousy area, and he could have built in another city without having to cough up $400m for the Forum (which isn't worth it).

Maybe because there is a little real estate development project right next store.

[Dan Druff]

I don't understand why Ballmer was so obsessed with building in Inglewood. It's a lousy area, and he could have built in another city without having to cough up $400m for the Forum (which isn't worth it).

Maybe because there is a little real estate development project right next store.

Whoops, yeah, I forgot about the NFL moving there. Even though I made a thread about it.

Never thought Inglewood would be the home of major LA sports ever again. Appeared that time had passed. I still think back to when gang members were harassing me as an innocent 16-year-old white boy driving back from a Lakers game, in 1988. I realize that the town -- and LA in general -- isn't nearly as rough as it was back in '88, but still.

Maybe Hollywood Park will become relevant again for poker?

[Hockey Guy]

obv shoutout to her 90s playboy spread out of respect

Jeannie Buss was in Playboy? Am I reading this correctly?

Apparently she was: https://www.imagefap.com/photo/73873...page=0&idx=0#2

[Dan Druff]

Jeannie Buss was in Playboy? Am I reading this correctly?

Apparently she was: https://www.imagefap.com/photo/73873...page=0&idx=0#2

She still had the '80s stye semi-bush then. She appeared in 1995.

She was 34 at the time.

I wonder if she dated old man Phil Jackson because she saw her dad dating younger women for so long, and that normalized it for her.

[lol wow]

todge somehow creeping out the lakers clippers thread seems appropriate

[Jayjami]

Maybe because there is a little real estate development project right next store.

Whoops, yeah, I forgot about the NFL moving there. Even though I made a thread about it.

Never thought Inglewood would be the home of major LA sports ever again. Appeared that time had passed. I still think back to when gang members were harassing me as an innocent 16-year-old white boy driving back from a Lakers game, in 1988. I realize that the town -- and LA in general -- isn't nearly as rough as it was back in '88, but still.

Maybe Hollywood Park will become relevant again for poker?

I know it’s hard to believe, but 20 years ago Hollywood Park was the 2nd best cardroom in LA and had a wide variety of games. It wasn’t run horribly but it wasn’t run well either. Most of those players ended up at Hawaiian Gardens and Huslter I imagine.

[Dan Druff]

Whoops, yeah, I forgot about the NFL moving there. Even though I made a thread about it.

Never thought Inglewood would be the home of major LA sports ever again. Appeared that time had passed. I still think back to when gang members were harassing me as an innocent 16-year-old white boy driving back from a Lakers game, in 1988. I realize that the town -- and LA in general -- isn't nearly as rough as it was back in '88, but still.

Maybe Hollywood Park will become relevant again for poker?

I know it’s hard to believe, but 20 years ago Hollywood Park was the 2nd best cardroom in LA and had a wide variety of games. It wasn’t run horribly but it wasn’t run well either. Those players ended up at Hawaiian Gardens, Huslter and the Bike I imagine.

Yes I know.

I started playing in January 2001. This was just at the end of HP's dominance. The place lost relevance when Commerce opened its new huge high limit room (and associated new hotel) in 2002.

Hustler also took some of their business prior to that, as both are roughly in the same area.

When the poker boom exploded in 2003, the new LA players mostly went to Commerce or Bike, and HP was left in the dust.

What I hated most about the place was the terrible area and scary parking lot. Was a sweat every time walking to my car. Commerce isn't a great area, but it's Beverly Hills compared to the one HP is located in.

[Sloppy Joe]

Clippers have surprised a lot since Ballmer took over, but they can't shake the history of being owned by a more successful facsimile of Donald Trump who printed money and gave no shits for three decades.

Even when they were good throughout the Chris Paul years they could never catch on, Lakers are too rooted there. Expect the Brooklyn Nets to experience the same phenomenon next year; even if Durant and Kyrie come out firing.

The cool move as a basketball fan would have been for Ballmer to move them to Seattle but surely the money difference is too much.