Recently Inglewood Mayor James Butts and members of the City Council unanimously approved an exclusive negotiating agreement (ENA) between the city of Inglewood and the L.A. Clippers. The ENA will start a process through which both parties will pursue the development of a state-of-the-art NBA basketball arena in the city of Inglewood. The facility would be located on a 20-acre parcel located south of Century Boulevard at Prairie Avenue. The Los Angeles Clippers will pay all the costs to plan, entitle and develop the proposed facility. Upon signing the ENA, the Los Angeles Clippers paid the city of Inglewood $1.5 million, which will fund the city’s administrative costs. If additional funding is required, the Clippers will provide the necessary resources. The new arena would be 100 percent privately funded and privately capitalized. No public dollars will be used for this project.
“The Los Angeles Clippers are committed to working with Inglewood residents and businesses to develop a premier basketball facility that will create a tremendous sense of pride, an economic engine and a source of employment opportunities in Inglewood and the greater Los Angeles community,” said Mayor James Butts.
He added, “Today’s announcement simply gives the team options for the future. The Los Angeles Clippers current lease with Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) at STAPLES Center expires in 2024, seven years from now. Putting a new project site together, conducting environmental review, obtaining permits and constructing a new arena takes time – approximately six to seven years.”
The ENA establishes a timeline and framework for the development, analysis and entitlement of the planned basketball facility. The Los Angeles Clippers will propose the specific site boundary, program and building forms of the proposed development. The city of Inglewood will then analyze the various impacts that the proposed development might have on the community, including both environmental review and fiscal impact.
During the environmental review and planning process, the Los Angeles Clippers and the city of Inglewood will determine which portion of the land is the best site for the Clippers new home. Any surplus land will be released from the ENA and be available for other uses by the city of Inglewood.
The site will likely include a state-of-the-art NBA arena, a training facility and team office space.
The Los Angeles Clippers plan to engage in the city’s environmental review process and estimates that this CEQA review will take approximately two years. It is an open, public and transparent process.
