In a step forward for the proposal, the Federal Aviation Administration approved the bulk of the Los Angeles Clippers development plan for the Inglewood Basketball and Entertainment Center.
The Clippers are working to build a new arena in Inglewood by the 2024-25 NBA season, proposing it as part of the larger Inglewood Basketball & Entertainment Center that would include surrounding structures. The 26-acre development located on West Century Boulevard between South Prairie Avenue and South Yukon Avenue would also include the team’s business and basketball offices, training facility, community and retail spaces.
Last month, the FAA signed off on 37 applications relating to the project. There are still additional applications pending before the agency, but those approvals nonetheless help the Clippers in their ongoing planning process. More from the Los Angeles Times:
The Federal Aviation Administration determined last month that 37 applications covering the bulk of the proposed Inglewood Basketball and Entertainment Center pose no hazard to air navigation. The green-lighted structures include a hotel, parking garages, retail buildings and signage.
Nine additional applications are pending for the 900,000-square foot arena that would be the centerpiece of the privately financed project. The highest point of the structure near the intersection of West Century Boulevard and South Prairie Avenue would be 144 feet above ground and 235 feet above sea level, according to documents filed with the FAA.
A spokesman for the developers said they “remain confident” the arena will open in 2024. The lease the Clippers have to play at Staples Center expires the same year.
Though obstruction evaluations by the FAA are routine, the complex’s proximity to Los Angeles International Airport make the reviews more than another box to check.
The Clippers have been working on the project for the past few years, as Inglewood entered into an exclusive 36-month negotiating period with Clippers-controlled entity Murphy’s Bowl, LLC for the potential construction of a new arena and surrounding development on a city-owned site in the summer of 2017. However, whether the project will ultimately move forward remains to be seen, as it is presently under an environmental review and has prompted opposition from Madison Square Garden Co.–owner of Inglewood’s Forum, a venue located less than a mile from the site targeted for the Clippers’ project. In addition to litigation, MSG has mounted a public opposition campaign against the proposal, including a Forum-launched website that alleges negative environmental implications from the project.
Discussions of a new Clippers arena come as the team approaches the 2024 expiration of its lease to downtown Los Angeles’s Staples Center, where it is currently part of a busy slate that includes the NBA’s Lakers and NHL’s Kings. Detailed plans on the proposal, including renderings of the arena and surrounding area, were released in July.
Rendering courtesy L.A. Clippers.
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