The Los Angeles Kings had their home opener at the Long Beach Arena on October 14, 1967, which was also the first game between two of the 1967 expansion teams. They defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-2, before a sell-out crowd of 11,652 Kings tickets holders. The Kings only used this under-capacity sized arena for two months, while waiting for the completion of the stadium that would be their home for the next 32 years.
One year previously, Jack Kente Cooke, owner of the Kings, tried to negotiate for his team to play at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, home of the L.A. Lakers. He was turned down because not only had the ice time been promised to the WHL team, the Los Angeles Blades, but the owners were involved in a competing bid for one of the expansion teams.
Not someone to be easily dissuaded, Cooke decided to build his own arena, the Forum, in Inglewood, a suburb of Los Angeles. It was designed by the architect, Charles Luckman, to resemble a round Roman coliseum, and is completely encircled by massive Roman columns. The modern facility was constructed for U.S. $16 million (U.S. $105 million in 2011 dollars). A full 70% of the 16,005 seats are located between the goals and no seat is farther than 170 feet away from the ice surface.
With the L.A. Lakers also using the Forum as their home court, it became one of the most famous sports complexes. During its 32 year heyday, many Hollywood celebrities were televised as they watched the exciting games of the highly successful L.A. Lakers. The Forum became known as a celebrity hang-out.
The Los Angeles Kings’ record at the Forum, on the other hand, was only marginally successful during their first two decades. They made the playoffs in many seasons, but were usually eliminated after the first or second round. Despite the mediocre achievements, the Forum was the stage for what was arguably the best comeback ever or since in NHL history. In the 1982 playoffs, the Kings started the third period against the Edmonton Oilers by being behind 5-0. They scored the fifth goal to tie the game with only five seconds remaining, and scored the winning goal in overtime. The game became known as the “Miracle on Manchester”, because the Forum is located on Manchester Street.
In 1998, the owners for the Los Angeles Kings decided to leave the “Great Western Forum” and begin playing at the newly built Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. This area, conveniently known as LA Live, is one of the hottest areas in LA. There is plenty of live entertainment, fine dinning, and hotels to chose from. The Staples Center has 2,000 more seats than the Forum, and also contains 160 luxury suites on three levels between the lower and upper bowl, something that the Forum did not have. There are many great seats at the Staples Center, with two-thirds of the seats in the lower level, including 2,500 club seats.
The Staples Center was constructed for U.S. $375 million and stands 150 feet tall. It is a high-tech, state-of-the-art facility that accommodates a wide variety of sports and entertainment. An upgrade in 2010 included refurbishments to the locker rooms of the Kings, Lakers and Clippers, and the installation of a high-tech, Panosonic live 4HD scoreboard. The Los Angeles Kings are hoping to have win their first Stanley Cup at the Staples Center.
