Madison Square Garden company buys Lakers old arena, The Forum

The blueprint that takes an NBA game from simply being a sporting event to an entertainment experience was laid out by Lakers owner Jerry Buss in the 80’s transforming the fabulous Forum from just a venue to a lifestyle. On the east coast, that same honor was held by the home of the Knicks, Madison Square Garden. So it’s only right that The Madison Square Garden Co. has purchased the Forum for $23.5 million.

The historic arena opened in 1967 and was home to both the NBA’s Lakers and NHL’s Kings until they left for the Staples Center in 1999.

The venue also hosted generations of pop music acts, including Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Aerosmith and Nirvana. It’s currently owned by the Faithful Central Bible Church, which uses it for services as well as concerts.

Madison Square Garden, which owns the namesake New York arena, along with the NBA’s Knicks and the NHL’s Rangers, says it plans to start renovating the Forum later this year.

The Forum is where I saw my first NBA game, the circus, my first Prince concert – and my last one, I went last year. I couldn’t wait until I was old enough to see what was going on in the Forum club.

That was the inspiration for current spots like Hyde in Staples and the 40-40 club in the soon to open Barclays center.  I hope that the renovation brings it into this century but still holds onto the charm of it. I actually vote for returning it to it’s red and white colorway as well.