Los Angeles Clippers Information

The city of Angels, Los Angeles, is known for the volatile lives of celebrities living in Hollywood, rock stars hanging out at the Roxy on the the Sunset Strip, and hot babes cruising the boardwalk on Venice Beach. Yet, when sport fans visit Los Angeles, they only want to see one thing and that's sports! As one of the largest cities in the United States, Los Angeles has many sports teams to choose from. Los Angeles is the home to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Sparks, the Los Angeles Kings, the Club Deportivo Chivas USA and Los Angeles Galaxy, and the Los Angeles Avengers. Though Los Angeles has not had a National Football League since 1995, they make up for it with two National Basketball Association teams, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers. As the second-biggest television market in North America, thousands of locals buy Los Angeles Clippers tickets. The team plays all their home games in the award winning, world-class arena, the STAPLES Center.

The journey of the Los Angeles Clippers is a long one, which started in Buffalo, New York. The franchise originally began as the Buffalo Braves in 1970. Due to two poor seasons, a savvy business man and a clause in the lease with Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, which stated if the Braves did not sell at least 4,500 season tickets, the team could be left out of their lease and be free to move to another city, the Buffalo Braves were relocated to San Diego in 1978. After a mostly unsuccessful run in New York, the team was sold and moved to San Diego where they gained the Clippers name. The first year in San Diego was successful but not enough to win them a seat in the finals. The team, which had moved to California in 1978, moved to Los Angeles in 1984 where they remain today. Irv Levin, then owner of the Boston Celtics, was a California businessman and wanted to own a NBA team in his native state. He made a deal with John Brown to swap the Boston Celtics for the Buffalo Braves then Levin would be able to move them to California to become the San Diego Clippers.

In 1981-82, Irv Levin sold the team to Los Angeles-area real estate developer and attorney, Donald T. Sterling for a purchase price of $20 million. After a couple more seasons of poor performances and poor attendance, Sterling lobbied to relocate the San Diego Clippers to his hometown, Los Angeles. Freshly transported to a large town that already had a NBA team, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Clippers were like the new kid at school. Nobody paid attention to the freshman team, especially since the Lakers were in the midst of a championship run with future Hall of Famers, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy. The Clippers finished their first season in Los Angeles with a disappointing 31-51 record.

Throughout the years, the rivalry between the two teams continued to plague the Clippers. As the Lakers dominated the 1990s, the Clippers quietly worked on building and strengthening the team. As 2000 came to be, the Los Angeles Clippers seem to be hitting a turning point. As long as they maintain a good record, they will gain the attention of their Los Angeles fans and in turn the fans will buy more Los Angeles Clippers tickets.

The well known Staples Center is home to the Los Angeles Clippers as well as the Lakers, also of the NBA, the Kings of the NHL, and the Sparks of the WNBA. It has seating for close to 19,000 people including club seats and luxury suites, which include event suites. The 375 million dollar stadium was privately financed and is named for their corporate sponsor Staples, an office supply company that paid for the rights. The arena has been named Arena of the Year by Pollstar Magazine and has earned nominations for each year since it was built in 1999. Aside from sports, the Staples Center also hosts many other types of events and entertainment and was the site of Michael Jackson’s public memorial service.

In the community, the Los Angeles Clippers are just as active as any other professional sports team. They participate in programs, charities, make donations, and are involved with area youth, all in the interest of creating a better future for those less fortunate. They are deeply passionate about education and fitness, participating in many programs to encourage children to achieve their dream while leading healthy lifestyles.

Of course what basketball team would be complete without their accompanying entertainment? The Clippers are supported by the Spirit Dance Team. This group of beautiful and talented women take time out of their busy schedules to not only perform at games, but also to make appearances throughout the community serving as goodwill ambassadors for the organization. They have also been featured on television and have traveled throughout the world for the team and the NBA. Also supporting the team is the Kia Fan Patrol. Their gymnastics routines are well loved by the fans, and the squad is often found greeting fans, and helping hand out giveaways or running contests on the court. For ten games out of each year, lucky fans also have the pleasure of being entertained by the Jr. Jams, a squad of area children talented in dance and gymnastics