Great Western Forum

From Hoopedia

It was known as the Forum from its ground breaking in 1966 until December of 1988 when, as the result of a major advertising agreement, the home of the Los Angeles Lakers was renamed the Great Western Forum.

The proved to be a gracious host for the Lakers, who won over 75 percent of their regular season games in the Great Western Forum since defeating the San Diego Rockets, 147-118, in the first-ever basketball game played in the arena on December 31, 1967.

The Lakers celebrated their 20th anniversary in their Inglewood home in 1988 by winning the NBA title on the Forum floor for the second consecutive year and the fourth time in club history (1972, 1982, 1987, 1988).

NBA Championships aren’t the only historic sporting events to be staged in the facility built by Jack Kent Cooke. On September 10, 1973, the largest live boxing gate ever on the West Coast, $475,640, was recorded when Muhammad Ali defeated Ken Norton. The first Forum concert paired Tony Bennett and Duke Ellington in 1968, and hundreds of major acts have followed. In 1989, Neil Diamond played to a record-breaking 10 sold-out performances in the Great Western Forum, and has now performed a total of 22 times in the venue.

Another historical event came to the Forum in 1984 when it served as the venue for the men’s and women’s basketball competition in the games of the XXIII Olympiad. In 1982 and again in 1989, the Los Angeles Kings skated to Miracles on Manchester I and II.

Jerry Buss purchased the Forum from Cooke in 1979 along with the Lakers and Kings for $67.5 million in what was then the largest sports transaction in history.

Since the Forum opened its door, more than 66 million fans have been attracted to over 6,000 events.