Clippers Considering an Inglewood Stadium

It is well known that the Clippers are actively evaluating their options for a home stadium. Their lease with Staples Center ends in 2024 and Steve Ballmer would not mind the Clippers having a stadium to call their own. Enter the Rams, the arrival of the Chargers to Los Angeles, and the need of these two teams for a new stadium. The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that Ballmer has been in talks with Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke about coordinating potential stadiums in the Inglewood area.

For context, the Rams broke ground back in November in Inglewood for a $2.6 billion dollar stadium. More importantly,

[o]n a piece of land that’s 3½ times the size of Disneyland, the stadium will be surrounded by a development that includes a performance venue, hotel, hundreds of thousands of square feet for retail and offices, homes and a lake with waterfalls.

The alleged talks are not specific as to whether the potential Clippers’ stadium would be part of this planned site, or simply adjacent. The LA Times does note that,

It’s believed that Ballmer would not want to be a tenant and therefore would need to own the arena land. But Kroenke isn’t known for selling what he acquires. If Ballmer relied on common parking, an arena wouldn’t require a large footprint; Staples Center occupies 10 acres.

So for now it remains a bit fuzzy as to how Steve Ballmer would be approaching any kind of cooperative deal with Stan Kroenke. But with the Clippers’ stadium lease at Staples scheduled for another seven years, there would appear to be no rush.