Los Angeles Clippers: Building a new arena in Inglewood now?

The Los Angeles Clippers might be moving to Inglewood.

It is being reported that this week Clippers owner Steve Ballmer will announce that the team intends to sign an agreement with the city of Inglewood to explore building an arena in the city.

It is rumored that Ballmer will privately finance the construction and that it will be separate from the current Los Angeles Rams stadium project.

This would be the first time the Clippers had a home of their own since 1984.  The Clippers were previously tenants of Los Angeles County when they played in the LA Sports Arena, and have been tenants of AEG playing in the Staples Center since 1999.

A move will give the Clippers both financial and logistical freedom. Since he took over as owner, Ballmer has tried to burnish the image of the Clippers. He’s introduced a mascot to make the team more family friendly.

He pulled off a coup by keeping DeAndre Jordan from leaving to the Dallas Mavericks. And he’s been vocal about the teams success against the Lakers.

Ballmer’s move comes with some risk.  Where exactly would an arena be built in Inglewood remains to be seen.

The Rams stadium project takes up a significant portion of land. The old Forum is right next to the Rams stadium project meaning Inglewood would have two state of the art arenas in the same city.

One other scenario is if Ballmer gets his way. It won’t make Clippers fans happy, though.

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Ballmer lives in Seattle, Washington. He has always been a threat to move the Clippers despite his comments to the contrary. With Seattle approving renovations for the Key Arena in order to lure an NBA or NHL team, the Clippers would be an ideal fit if Ballmer can’t get the arena built.