LOS ANGELES, July 30 (Reuters) – The Forum, the erstwhile
home of pro basketball’s Los Angeles Lakers and hockey’s Los
Angeles Kings, will reopen in January following a $100 million
renovation, event venue operator The Madison Square Garden Co
said on Tuesday.
The company, which owns the fabled New York arena, purchased
the venue, located in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, a
year ago for $23.5 million in a bid to return it to its former
prominence and compete with the Staples Center in downtown Los
Angeles.
During its 1970s and 1980s heyday, the Forum hosted NBA
basketball championships and top-billed rock and pop concerts,
but its star faded after the Lakers and Kings moved to the new
Staples Center in 1999.
Madison Square Garden Co – which also owns Radio City
Musical Hall in New York, and venues in Boston and Chicago –
said the Forum would expand the company’s presence to the West
Coast.
“Our acquisition and revitalization of the Forum is a
perfect complement to the Madison Square Garden arena,” Hank
Ratner, MSG president and CEO, said in a statement. “It now
allows us to have world-class venues in both New York and Los
Angeles, linking the two top entertainment markets in the
country.”
Rock group The Eagles, whose peak years in the 1970s
mirrored those of the Forum, will be the refurbished arena’s
first event, playing three consecutive concerts in January.
The venue, which was used for a church’s Sunday service,
will be renamed The Forum Presented by Chase and primarily focus
on music and entertainment. It will seat up to 17,500 people.
