Clippers reportedly exploring potential move to Inglewood
Representatives forLA Clippersowner Steve Ballmer have spoken with representatives forLos Angeles Ramsowner Stan Kroenke about the possibility of the team joining the Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers in Inglewood, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.
Ballmer is looking to find his team a new home after its Staples Center lease ends in 2024 and has been interested by Los Angeles' Westside, sources previously told ESPN.
The Times reports that a new arena could be built on either the 298-acre site of the sports and entertainment district that will include a new stadium for the Rams and Chargers, or an adjacent parcel.
The Clippers continue to consider multiple sites for a new arena, if they indeed choose to build one, the Times reports. A source previously told ESPN's Arash Markazi that any new arena probably would also house the team's training facility as is the case with several NBA teams.
The team currently trains in Playa Vista but doesn't own the facility.
Both the Clippers and Rams declined to comment to the Times.
James T. Butts, Inglewood's mayor, told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne that adding a basketball arena to the Rams and Chargers project could delay the opening of the football stadium by at least 18 months.
"To introduce another element in it would require city approval and an EIR (environmental impact report), and that would set the project back by 18 months to two years," Butts said. "To add a basketball arena in there would stop everything right now."
Ballmer has spoken of his desire for a basketball-only venue that would be more intimate than Staples Center, which is also home to the Los Angeles Lakers andLos Angeles Kings. Sources with knowledge of the Clippers' lease agreement have told ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz that, in many regards, the team operates as Staples Center's "third tennant."
Ballmer told the Times in 2015, "We're third guy in, we have third choice in dates. If you are a good businessman, you don't come to the end of your lease and say, 'I have no options, landlord, please take me to the woodshed and beat me.' We'll have options."
