What Does It Mean for the Clippers? : Sterling Now May Have to Move Out

In his many years as Clipper owner and real estate mogul, Donald T. Sterling has closed many deals, but it appears the biggest of all may have come at his expense.

Sources say Sterling decided not to move the Clippers to the Pond of Anaheim for next season and signed a one-year lease with the Sports Arena to position himself as a possible tenant or part-owner with King owner Edward Roski in a proposed downtown arena. Sterling reportedly even met with Roski to discuss the possibility.

But Laker owner Jerry Buss signed a deal with the King owner, and apparently Sterling’s brief involvement was the motivating factor. On June 7, the day after Sterling decided to stay in Los Angeles, Buss agreed to Roski’s terms, which included becoming a tenant in the new arena instead of part-owner as Buss originally desired.

So instead of putting the NBA team with the worst attendance and lowest net worth in a new arena, Sterling gambled, leaving the Clippers in the dilapidated Sports Arena and in a few years, possibly, in the same area as the popular Lakers.

That could be disastrous for a franchise that averaged 9,274 fans per game at the Sports Arena the last two seasons, a number that is surely to drop with the Lakers next door.

That leaves Sterling with little choice but to move the team from the Sports Arena, the Clippers’ home for 11 seasons but the oldest facility in the NBA. But where would he go?

A move by the Lakers opens up the Forum, a venue without luxury boxes and only seven years younger than the Sports Arena. Representatives from the Forum and the Clippers were reluctant to comment on a possible move to Inglewood.

“It’s really early at this point to talk about that,” said Jeanie Buss, president of Forum Sports Inc. “Until we know officially how [the Lakers and Kings] vote it is not worth speculating. It is too far in the future to worry about that.”

Joe Safety, vice president of communications for the Clippers, said he would not comment on the matter until an official announcement was made. Buss said the two sides have not spoken about a possible move.

Also, Pat Lynch, general manager of the Coliseum and the negotiator between the Clippers and the Sports Arena, said no one from the team has contacted him about a possible move.

The Pond remains another possibility.

Sterling turned down a reported 12-year package worth $95 million--to be paid by the Ogden Corp., owner of the arena, and the city of Anaheim. Sterling rejected the deal despite reports that the NBA favored the move.

It is unknown whether that deal can be revived, although Anaheim city officials have been optimistic the Clippers would come calling again.

“The economics are better here, they get great crowds and good support here that they don’t get in L.A.,” Anaheim City Manager James D. Ruth said in June. “It’s to professional basketball’s benefit to relocate to Anaheim.”

The Clippers averaged 14,389 for eight games at the Pond in 1995-96 and 17,821 for six in 1994-95. The Pond has luxury boxes and would greatly increase the net worth of the franchise, which is an NBA-low $88 million, according to Financial World magazine.

“I’m optimistic that maybe [the Clippers] will call us again after they sit down and reevaluate,” Councilman Lou Lopez said after Sterling’s change of heart in June.