Rich Constable, Madison Square Garden, New York

Re: “Elbows fly in the Capitol over Steve Ballmer’s plan for a Clippers arena in Inglewood,” WhatMatters, Oct. 17. 

The item positions valid environmental and other concerns about the proposed arena as being born from out of concerns surrounding competition. We’d like to clarify our position.

The Forum is acting on behalf of thousands of Inglewood residents and businesses to bring attention to an effort by the Clippers to fast-track their arena proposal, despite the plan’s harmful impact on the environment and community.

The Forum would not be against the Clippers building anywhere else in the market, where they’d still be our competition. What we oppose is locating their venue next to a football stadium, the Forum, a residential neighborhood, and on land taken in violation of our deal with Inglewood.  

Three large-scale venues all within a mile of each other would ruin the experience for all attendees, overwhelm Inglewood with crippling traffic and insufficient parking, increase pollution and decrease the community’s quality of life.

Quite simply, the Clippers arena would negatively impact the lives of Inglewood residents and the California environment.


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