Clippers, USC-Arizona Moved to the Forum

With the Sports Arena closed indefinitely because of possible structural damage from Monday’s earthquake, the Clippers and USC rescheduled this week’s games.

The Clippers, who were scheduled to return to Los Angeles this morning after 10 days on the road, will play Friday night’s game against Cleveland at the Forum. Tipoff remains at 7:30, and all tickets, parking passes and club passes will be honored.

The status of the Clippers’ next home game, Jan. 27 against New York, and subsequent games, will be determined by Monday. Officials are waiting for a final damage report.

“There is a lot of dust and some plaster on the floor, but nothing visually that looks too bad,” said Cindy Rubin, a spokeswoman for the Sports Arena. “But public safety is No. 1, so we want to take every precaution before opening our doors.”

The basketball game between USC and ninth-ranked Arizona on Saturday has also been moved to the Forum. Tipoff is 1 p.m. and all tickets and parking passes will be honored. Seating will be on a non-reserved basis. Tonight’s game between the Trojans and Arizona State was moved to the Lyon Center on the USC campus. It is sold out.

Although Clipper officials also considered moving the Cleveland game to Anaheim Arena or Pauley Pavilion, they chose the Forum because they considered it most convenient for their fans. Clipper logos will be placed over Laker logos on the court.

“Let’s play at the Inglewood YMCA (one of the Clippers’ practice facilities), or someplace where we could have a sellout,” reserve forward Tom Tolbert joked.

This is not the first time the Clippers have had to move a home game. They held a playoff game against Utah in May of 1992 at the Anaheim Convention Center because of the Los Angeles riots. USC has also occasionally played at the Forum, most recently against Arizona last season.

The moves do not affect the Lakers, who play host to Phoenix tonight and do not return home until next Wednesday. The NBA announced that Monday’s postponed game between the Lakers and Sacramento has been rescheduled for Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m. at the Forum. All issued tickets will be honored.

Heavy property damage suffered in the San Fernando Valley has forced Cal State Northridge to postpone or cancel all athletic events through Sunday.

“Many of our athletes have no place to stay, and to think about athletic competition at this time is secondary to our primary concern for their safety,” said Bob Hiegert, the school’s athletic director.

Among the rescheduled events is a men’s basketball game Saturday night against No. 21 California in Berkeley. A new date has not been determined. The team had already canceled Wednesday night’s game at Air Force.

High school sports have also been greatly affected. The Los Angeles Unified School District, second largest in the nation, is closed for the rest of the week and all soccer, wrestling and basketball contests have been postponed. Several of the district’s high schools in the Valley, including Granada Hills Kennedy, Chatsworth and Reseda, sustained damage to their gyms and will not be used for games indefinitely.

In an effort to recoup some of the estimated $3 million to $4 million damage to Anaheim Stadium after a scoreboard fell, city officials have asked the state to declare it a disaster area. Such status would allow Anaheim to receive 75% of the cost to repair the stadium.

Times staff writers Chris Baker in Orlando and Mike Hiserman contributed to this story.