Lakers News: LA Discussed Moving from Staples Center to Forum for 2025-26 Season

The Los Angeles Lakers entertained the idea of moving back to The Forum in Inglewood, California, according to the Los Angeles Times' Nathan Fenno. 

The Lakers confirmed the report in a statement to Fenno: "MSG approached the Lakers about the possibility of returning to the Forum following the end of our Lease at Staples Center in 2025, but nothing came from the discussions."

Fenno added the team's lease with Staples Center expires after the 2024-25 season and that Los Angeles is "believed to be discussing an extension."

The Lakers called The Forum home from 1967 to 1999, when they moved to the newly built Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. Despite losing the NBA franchise, The Forum has remained a popular entertainment venue.

Businessman Irving Azoff, described as an associate of Forum owners MSG, reached out to Lakers owner Jeanie Buss about the idea of getting the Lakers back in Inglewood.

"We will either keep it exactly as it is or build a beautiful new building for Lakers and music," he wrote in an email. "We have years to decide but we are going to design it now anyway just in case."

Azoff also expressed skepticism about the Los Angeles Clippers' plans to build an arena in Inglewood. The Inglewood City Council in June 2017 approved a three-year negotiating window in which the city would explore a new arena for the Clippers.

Since opening, Staples Center has served as a hub for Los Angeles sports. In addition to the Lakers and Clippers, it houses the NHL's Los Angeles Kings and WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks.