The Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles. (Photo : Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Clippers are rumored to have begun exploring potential sites for a new home arena as owner Steve Ballmer plans to move away from the Staples Center, the building the team shared with the Los Angeles Lakers since the 1999-2000 season, soonest.
Lakers Nation indicated that the Clippers are "bothered" about being the "third tenant" in the popular sports center behind the Lakers and NHL team Los Angeles Kings, which means they are the third priority when it comes to scheduling of games, "overall fan experience", and receiving a "smaller share of proceeds and club seats" than the two aforementioned sports clubs, despite being the better team sports-wise for the past few seasons already.
The report noted that Ballmer's decision to find the Clippers their own arena "makes sense" as they will truly have a hard time expressing their own identity as long as they are in the shared space.
However, with their contract with the arena legally-bound until the year 2024, it will take another eight years before Ballmer can fully achieve his vision. The owner insisted that they will not relocate out of Los Angeles, though.
In January 2013, the Clippers had signed an agreement with the Anschutz Entertainment Group, the company that owns and operates the building, to stay there for another 10 years.
Meanwhile, ESPN reported that "the Clippers would neither confirm nor deny they are actively searching for a location, but one NBA source said that an area that piques the franchise's interest is Los Angeles' west side".
The franchise is said to be planning to own and operate their own stadium to "maximize earning opportunities, from sponsorship to licensing fees" up to other "other substantial revenue streams like concessions".
Even though the Clippers are the contending team at the moment, they remain to be the only tenant that is without a championship, which could explain why the team is third in the pecking order of business at the Staples.
"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," Ballmer said last year.
"We don't own our arena, so a lot of things about fan experience - food and beverage - they're not on our list because, frankly, we get what we get from AEG, who owns Staples Center," said Ballmer two weeks ago at Geekwire's Sports Tech Summit.
