Los Angeles belongs to the Lakers when you talk basketball. The Clippers have a relatively niche group of fans within the city, but the Lakers have the historical success and the marquee names that come with having the biggest basketball brand in Los Angeles, which will be put on display again on Monday night when the two meet at the Staples Center (10:30 p.m. ET -- Watch on FuboTV with NBA League Pass add-on). Steve Ballmer, the Clippers' owner, wants to shed that perception. However, to do so, he believes the Clippers need their own home first.
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Ballmer and the Clippers already have the plans in place for an arena in Inglewood, near where the Rams are building their football stadium. Right now, they share the Staples Center with the Lakers and Los Angeles Kings, but the Clippers have faced resistance from Madison Square Garden Co., which owns The Forum, which is nearby.
Ballmer talked about his desire for his own arena on "Jimmy Kimmel Live."
"It turns out we're the third tenant, we play on the worst nights, we've got the crappiest locker room, we make the least money, but at the end of the day you say 'hey if we're going to be a first-class world organization, boom we gotta have our own house, we gotta stand for something, we gotta have our building just cry out and tell our fans these guys are in, it's gotta be something that attracts our players,'" Ballmer said on the show (6:30 timestamp). "I want a different environment than what you get in Staples, I want a building that helps pumps and thump the energy."
That's not surprising coming from Ballmer, who is already known for his enthusiasm. Earlier in the interview, he emphasized that he even wants the music to be different.
If the Clippers pull it off, it would certainly be a substantial move. Ending up near the Rams and Chargers' new home would be huge in terms of proximity, and the Clippers could see a spike in popularity. However, in the short term, they need to focus on winning. That in itself tends to draw fans out.
