Kia Forum

The Forum opened on December 30, 1967. Architect Charles Luckman's vision was realized by engineers Carl Johnson and Svend Nielsen. It was a groundbreaking structure without extensive internal support pillars that was unique in an indoor arena the size of the Forum.^[2]


From 1967 to 1999, the Forum was home to the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL) before both teams joined the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers at the Crypto.com Arena. From 1997 to 2001, the Forum was also the home of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks until they moved to Crypto.com Arena as well.


Alongside Madison Square Garden in New York City, the Forum was once one of the best-known indoor sports venues in the U.S., largely due to the Lakers' success and the Hollywood celebrities often seen there. It was the site of the 1972 and 1983 NBA All-Star Games, the 1981 NHL All-Star Game, 1984 Olympic basketball, and the Big West Conference (from 1983 to 1988) and 1989 Pacific-10 Conference men's basketball tournaments. The venue also hosted tennis and boxing matches, as well as major music concerts and political events.


In 2000, the Forum was acquired by the Faithful Central Bible Church, which used it for occasional church services and leased it for sporting events, concerts, and other events. In 2012, the Forum was purchased by the Madison Square Garden Company (MSG), for $23.5 million; MSG announced plans to renovate the arena as a world-class concert venue.^[3] On September 24, 2014, the Forum was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. On March 24, 2020, Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer purchased The Forum from MSG for $400 million.


The Forum has previously been known as the Great Western Forum,^[4] and was nicknamed "the Fabulous Forum" by long-time Lakers play-by-play announcer Chick Hearn.^[5] It is also known informally as the LA Forum to distinguish it from other places with the name "Forum".^[6]