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Inglewood green lights new Los Angeles Clippers arena

New L.A. Clippers arena

The Inglewood City Council gave final approval to sell 22 acres of city-owned land for $66.25 million to a team-controlled developer, paving the way for a new Los Angeles Clippers arena.

The cost of the Clippers project, now dubbed Inglewood Basketball and Entertainment Complex but with naming rights being shopped, as of now is $1.8 billion. The total purchase price will be shared among the city of Inglewood, the FAA, Los Angeles World Airports and other local entities, including the Inglewood Unified School District.

The Clippers are pitching a privately financed 18,000-seat arena in Inglewood that would be completed by the 2024-25 NBA season, following the conclusion of the team’s lease at downtown Los Angeles’s Staples Center. The complex would include the arena, team offices, public spaces and a practice facility. The franchise’s hope is to begin construction by July 2021.

The sale of 13 parcels of publicly owned land covers some 22 acres. The current arena plan calls for a 28-acre footprint.

“Today is a new chapter for the Inglewood Basketball and Entertainment Center, as we move from the land use entitlement process and look toward construction,” Clippers president of business operations Gillian Zucker said in a statement. “Every part of IBEC is being designed with purpose — with an unapologetic intensity that will define the experience together for players, musical talent and fans alike. This arena will prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there is no replacement for live basketball and entertainment.”

It’s been a typical California development in many ways, with foes opposing the arena on environmental and traffic concerns. One big complication came when Madison Square Garden Company opposed the project because of the perceived impact on The Forum; Clippers owner Steve Ballmer addressed that objection by buying the Forum.

The Forum will combine with the new Clippers arena and the SoFi Stadium complex (featuring its own 6,000-seat entertainment venue), opening this week as the home of the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams, to create perhaps the most robust sports and entertainment complex in the world.

Rendering courtesy L.A. Clippers.

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