I was inspired to go see what other stadium construction photos sit in the LAPL newspaper archives, and I wasn't disappointed. I've written here about the LA Kings' history in Los Angeles, about the Pan Pacific Auditorium with a brief touch on the Sports Arena and Forum.
Today I'm going to try and dive into that latter history. Like the Dodgers, I feel sort of strange doing a history because they're so large. They've been in the spotlight so long, I feel like any stories I find to tell about them have already been told many times over.
Still, like Walter O'Malley last time, the story of how Jack Kent Cooke thumbed his nose at the City of LA is an interesting one. It's interesting to note just how many teams the City of LA had as tenants but ultimately chased away. The Dodgers, the Angels (AL), the Lakers, the Clippers, the Rams, the Raiders, UCLA football, and the Kings. Throw in the City of Pasadena and you can add the Galaxy.
Not that there was always conflict in those situations. I think ultimately most teams would rather own their own facility as opposed to renting, that way you can make improvements as you feel necessary and you don't have to worry about the city shoving other teams in. The Angels and Rams didn't last too long, the Giants and 49ers was always an uneasy relationship, the Raiders and A's aren't best buds.
Now, while building giant outdoor stadiums probably isn't in the best interest of a city, arenas are a different beast. Indoor venues can be used for conventions, concerts, rodeos, trade shows, you name it. The Pan Pacific Auditorium was one such venue, and the city of LA Junior Chamber of Commerce had plans to build a LA Civic Convention Hall between Grand and Broadway downtown back in 1935, the year the PPA opened.
Sports Arena under construction. Photo credit LAPL
Now as they were building the Los Angeles Sports Arena in 1958-59, it was discovered that Los Angeles had been chosen to host the 1960 Democratic Convention. The city would be inundated with 17-18 thousand extra people and millions of extra dollars would flow into its coffers.
Photo credit LAPL
This photo has what they call the first and second tiers of permanent seats, but there's also a lower bowl still to be built. You can already tell the space their creating isn't going to be well lit or spacious. It's functional, I'll give them that.
So then, that 1960 Democratic convention was actually quite monumental as it's where John F. Kennedy finally won the Democratic nomination, and in a surprise move made his closest competitor Lyndon Johnson his running mate.
Now while Los Angeles had built itself a large convention and concert venue, just in time for stadium rock, the city did not yet have a NHL or NBA team. The NHL was still the big dog in arena sports, even though it was only in six cities at the time. The city had landed an NFL team a decade prior, which made sense as there were the fewest road games to schedule of any league. With the Dodgers moving west in 1958, LA was starting to turn into the west coast sports capital many imagined it would eventually be.
The Lakers began with the purchase of a disbanded NBL team, the Detroit Gems, in 1947. George Mikan led them to many championships, but retired in 1956. Attendance and performance plunged, leading to a sale of the team to an investment team led by Bob Short.
Things got so dire for Short that the league threatened contraction, and to move to team to a new location. Short decided to move to Los Angeles with the Sports Arena set to open in 1959. The league initially voted against the move, but when Short threatened to move to a rival league the near unanimous no vote became a unanimous yes vote. Again, merchants have the power not the rule makers wearing funny hats.
So the Lakers move into the Sports Arena for the 1960-61 season, and they've got Elgin Baylor now and fortunes are improving. Short's ownership group, which consisted of mostly Minnesota businessmen, was able to flip the Lakers for a then record $5,175,000 having purchased them for $200,000. Jack Kent Cooke was the man who bought them in 1965.
Before we talk about Cooke, we have to talk about the Western hockey league. Hockey was still king of arena sports back then, basketball just a seat filler in between home games. Indeed, when the Sports Arena was built, a hockey rink was part of the design despite LA not having a hockey team.
Sports Arena ice rink. Photo credit LAPL
LA had lost it's PCHL team the Los Angeles Monarchs when the league merged with the Western Canada Hockey League to form the Western Hockey League. Given that the Sports Arena was built with a hockey rink, from the day it opened it had been trying to gain an NHL franchise, and since it couldn't General Manager Bill Nichols announced intention to affiliate with the WHL. The Victoria Cougars ownership was transferred to Jim Piggott - a construction mogul from Saskatchewan - and Dan Reeves owner of the Los Angeles Rams.
Jack Kent Cooke was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in 1912. In 1941 he began to make his fortune buying radio stations and newspapers. In 1951 he made his first sports purchase, the minor league Toronto Maple Leafs baseball club. Cooke would be a major proponent of bringing major league baseball to Canada, putting in bids when teams went up for sale and even backing the Continental League which never played a game but did set of MLB expansion.
Now in 1961, Cooke purchased 25% of the Washington Redskins. As he was not an NFL majority owner, he was free to purchase other teams and did just that in 1965 buying the Lakers. However, as a Canadian Cooke's first love was hockey, so when the NHL announced the sale of six expansion teams in 1966 Cooke was first in line. His biggest competitor being the guys already running an LA hockey franchise, Piggott and Reeves with the Blades.
Jack Cooke at the Forum Construction site. The iconic columns are instantly recognizable. Photo credit LAPL
The NHL wanted an owner willing to build their own arena, so that they could set their own schedule. Cooke began work on building the Fabulous Forum, and the City of LA was left with a WHL franchise that would soon be irrelevant. As Cooke would move the Lakers into his arena, and change their colors, the Sports Arena would go from buzzing to empty in the space of eight years.
The Sports Arena eventually got a new basketball team. The rival ABA would begin with a franchise in Anaheim known as the Amigos. After one season they were sold, moved into the Sports Arena, and renamed the Los Angeles Stars. Two seasons later they'd move to Utah.
In 1970 the NBA expanded with the Portland Trailblazers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Buffalo Braves. The Braves moved to San Diego in 78 and became the Clippers, and then the Clippers moved to Los Angeles in 1984. The Clippers would play in the Sports Arena for sixteen years before moving in with the Lakers and Kings.
The Sports Arena would even get hockey again. In 1972 LA was given World Hockey Association team called the LA Sharks that would last two seasons before moving to Detroit. In 1995 San Diego's minor league hockey team moved north to become the Los Angeles Ice Dogs. After just one season, the Ice Dogs moved down the 710 freeway to Long Beach.
In the case of all those franchises, they would occasionally have to play games in Long Beach due to schedule conflicts at the Sports Arena. Which is exactly what the NHL feared. Now, technology has improved now to where Staples Center downtown can host doubleheaders, even with two different sports.
The Sports Arena got to host plenty of hockey and basketball and concerts over the years, but after starting out on such a good foot it was effectively destroyed by the NHL. Cooke's arena became the beloved one in Los Angeles, especially after the Laker championships of the 80s. Then when AEG bought the Kings, they built their own vision of Staples Center and adjacent Nokia Center. Now AEG is looking to build an NFL stadium on the same site. All of those things sound better than the arena the city of Los Angeles built.
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