Madison Square Garden to buy the Forum

Madison Square Garden, which owns the landmark New York venue of the same name, as well as Radio City Music Hall and the Beacon Theater, among others, "is in the process of finalizing the purchase" of the Forum sports arena in Inglewood, according to Billboard.com. The venue, which was at one point the home to the Lakers and the Kings, was once the preeminent large concert venue in the city. That changed with the opening of Staples Center in 1999.

The Forum has been owned since 2000 by the Faithful Central Bible Church, which has struggled to keep the venue profitable. The concert bookings have slowed to a trickle in the last year. The Times' Richard Verrier wrote about the church's goals when purchasing the property a decade ago:

More ambitiously, church officials envisioned a family entertainment venue with concerts, shops, restaurants and a hotel that would create hundreds of jobs in an underserved area while generating income for the church and its mission.

The dream, however, never came to pass. Today, the Forum sits mostly vacant and silent, a monument to a bygone era when it was known as the Fabulous Forum and hosted such acts as the Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan. The shops, restaurants and hotel never materialized.

"We're in a challenging situation right now,'' [Bishop Kenneth] Ulmer acknowledged in an interview.

If indeed the purchase comes to pass, it could change the landscape of the concert business in Los Angeles. The Forum holds 18,000 people, compared with the 20,000-capacity Staples Center, which, like the neighboring Club Nokia and Nokia Theatre, is owned by Anschutz Entertainment Group. AEG also owns concert promoter Goldenvoice.

Many pop and rock acts still have a sentimental attachment to the Forum because of its key role in the Southern California music scene for three decades. Some also prefer its acoustics and relative intimacy -- Staples Center consumes roughly triple the real estate that the Forum occupies -- but have avoided performing there in recent years because of a long-running labor dispute and other logistical complications. In 2008, for instance, Neil Young canceled a show for which he'd been booked because members of the International Alliance of Theatre and Stage Employees, of which he and his wife, Pegi, are honorary lifetime members, were picketing the Forum.

New ownership could remedy those issues and bring a regular diet of concerts back to the facility.

-- Randall Roberts and Randy Lewis

Photo: Bishop Kenneth C. Ulmer, of Faithful Central Bible Church, stands in front of the Forum. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times.

Comments

[Jack]

location location location...

[secondtoolate]

I drive by the Forum regularly and it's sad to see how quiet it is - the marquee sign begs for business. It's too bad it didn't work out for Faithful Central but this is probably very good news for the neigborhood.

[Mike]

It would be fantastic to see bands playing there again. I think the whole nostalgic thing could really work.

[madsircool]

UCLA basketball will play in the Forum in 2011-12 while Pauley Pavilion is being renovated. But, apart from that, are there enough events to keep The Forum profitable? Its sad that the concert industry has declined so drastically since its peak in the 70's and 80's.

[Chris]

It's unfortunate that the church couldn't make the forum work like anticipated. However, I am sure that the Madison Square Garden folks will have no problem restoring the Forum to it's original glory. I hope they have plenty of new concerts and show there.

[waskoma]

What a great venue the forum is. So many memories, Frampton, steve miller, aerosmith, fleetwoodmac, kings and gretzky's first game, oh my the lakers and the great players, of course there was the infamous john cougar shutout when I couldnt get tickets and some dude took off with my girlfriend, but that is a whole other story...

[trajan]

Just don't think that a church(non profit) should be owning a facility like the Forum. I could not see that working and would not join a church that would buy such a place. The vision of those church officials was way off and not consistent with the way that a religious organization should be represented. If the idea is to bring jobs to the area and to keep the Forum relevant has an entertainment venue than it is good to see Madison Square Garden owning the place. The Forum should be renovated and made more attractive for the surrounding community. I would like to see a renovated Forum hosting the LA Clippers instead of them sharing a place with the Lakers.

[Bob]

So, Staples Center (hate it when they name venues after businesses, especially businesses that have nothing to do with the venue) and the Fabulous Forum have nearly identical capacity? Then why isn't the Forum booked more often?

[Paul]

This is fantastic news. The Forum is an iconic building and deserving of renewal. Now, have Sterling sell the Clippers, who move into a renovated Forum and you've got something.

[wizowl]

Trajan, people join churches of their choice. FCBC may not be your cup of tea, but there is no law, for those who desire a different kind of church, to join it. I do not think buyers need to consult with you concerning their purchases. People in this country have free God-given will. Everybody is responsible for their own sin and soul, and Jesus is their Judge.

[rachelharold]

I just now received my free product sample from name brand companies, quite a few of them from "123 Get Samples" online

[Thomas]

I was a long time independent contractor that operated a camera crane in The Forum every Sunday for 3 years straight for FCBC, until I was let go FLAT OUT, without warning or even a follow-up call months afterwards to see if I was even still alive.

I really believe that God's favor really played a part in the aquisition of The Forum for Faithful Central, but after a while the focus of the church's executive board seemed to get shifted from Worship mode to Business mode.

With all things considered...I think that it'll be economically good for the city of Inglewood for The Forum to be thriving again, regardless of it's owners.

Faithful Central had their shot, and 'Today' the Forum is sitting there dead and lifeless, and that reality isn't helping the city of Inglewood, or FCBC.

Is it possible for the church's plan to have succeeded? Possibly.
Did it succeed? No.

The only thing that matters now is: What will bring The Forum back to life?

[Grandpa]

The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (adjacent to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum) remains the ideal, iconic venue for your entertainment dollar.

[Tim]

Bob- Good call on the corporate names, because the "Great Western" Forum was much better. Great Western Bank's business had so much to do with the Forum's business. These naming rights deals do a lot to offset the cost of building and maintaining these buildings. Keeping these places running isn't cheap and they need to get whatever money they can. You think ticket prices are high now, I would hate to see what happened if they didn't have the advertising revenue stream.

As far as the reason the Forum doesn't hold more events considering the similar capacity to Staples is the same reason the LA Sports Arena doesn't (it has a similar capacity as well). They are run down, poorly maintained buildings. Staples, even 11 years in, is one of the top Arena's in the country for a reason. It is designed well, pristinely maintained, and extremely well run. If MSG can whip the Forum back into shape, there might be some better competition.

[Ron]

It sad to see the church sell the Forum, the plans were so grand, but there were too many against the idea of a business mecca in Inglewood. The major problem was between the promotion management company(s), and the unions. The church needed both to run the Forum business, but when they had conflict, it made it impossible to conduct business, and forced a lot of acts to look elsewhere.
When the church purchased the Forum, they kept the workers and union in place, and tried not to lay off anyone for years, despite the decline in acts and disputes between the management companies and union.

I guess God has a new vision for Faithful Central, and the Forum, both will be fine.