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The Forum Los Angeles Forum The Fabulous Forum | |
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 The Kia Forum | |
 Interactive map of Kia Forum | |
| Former names |
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|---|---|
| Address | 3900 WestManchester Boulevard |
| Location | Inglewood, California, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 33°57′30″N118°20′30″W / 33.95833°N 118.34167°W /33.95833; -118.34167 |
| Public transit |   Downtown Inglewood Metro Local212 from Hawthorne/Lennox |
| Owner | Steve Ballmer |
| Capacity |
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| Construction | |
| Broke ground | July 1, 1966; 59 years ago (1966-07-01) |
| Opened | December 30, 1967; 57 years ago (1967-12-30) |
| Renovated | 1988, 2012–2014 |
| Construction cost | US$16 million ($151 million in 2024 dollars[1]) 2014 renovation: $76.5 million |
| Architect | Charles Luckman Associates (original) Brisbin Brook Beynon (renovation) |
| Structural engineer | Johnson & Nielsen Associates (original) Severud Associates (renovation) |
| General contractor | C.L. Peck Contractors (original) Clark Construction (renovation) |
| Tenants | |
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| Website | |
| thekiaforum | |
Forum | |
| NRHP reference No. | 14000661 |
| Added to NRHP | September 24, 2014 |
TheKia Forum, also known simply asThe Forum, is a multi-purposeindoor arena inInglewood, California, part of theLos Angeles area. Located on WestManchester Boulevard, withPincay Drive to the south and betweenKareem Court and Prairie Avenue to the east and west, it is north ofSoFi Stadium,Intuit Dome, and theHollywood Park Casino, and about 3 miles (4.8 km) east ofLos Angeles International Airport (LAX).
The Forum opened on December 30, 1967. ArchitectCharles Luckman's vision was realized by engineers Carl Johnson andSvend Nielsen. It was a groundbreaking structure without extensive internal support pillars that was unique in an indoor arena the size of the Forum. The arena's roof, a cable-suspended structure, has a diameter of approximately 407 feet (124 meters).[2]
From 1967 to 1999, the Forum was home to theLos Angeles Lakers of theNational Basketball Association (NBA) and theLos Angeles Kings of theNational Hockey League (NHL) before both teams joined the NBA'sLos Angeles Clippers at theCrypto.com Arena, then known as the Staples Center. From 1997 to 2001, the Forum was also the home of theWNBA'sLos Angeles Sparks until they moved to Crypto.com Arena as well.
AlongsideMadison Square Garden inNew York City, the Forum has been considered one of the best-known indoor sports venues in the U.S., largely due to the Lakers' success and theHollywood celebrities often seen there. It was the site of the1972 and1983 NBA All-Star Games, the1981 NHL All-Star Game, 1984Olympic basketball, and theBig West Conference (from 1983 to 1988) and 1989Pacific-10 Conference men's basketball tournaments. The venue has also hosted tennis and boxing matches, as well as major music concerts and political events.
In 2000, the Forum was acquired by the Faithful Central Bible Church, who used it for occasionalchurch services and leased it for sporting, concerts, and other events. In 2012, the Forum was purchased by theMadison Square Garden Company (MSG), for $23.5 million; MSG announced plans to renovate the arena as a world-class concert venue.[3] On September 24, 2014, the Forum was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places. On March 24, 2020, Los Angeles Clippers ownerSteve Ballmer purchased The Forum from MSG for $400 million.
The Forum has previously been known as theGreat Western Forum,[4] as well asThe Forum presented by Chase, and was nicknamedThe Fabulous Forum by long-time Lakers play-by-play announcerChick Hearn.[5] It is also known informally as theLA Forum to distinguish it from other places with the name "Forum".[6]
On the site of a former golf course, the "fabulous" Forum (as it was colloquially known to locals)[7] was built in 1967 byJack Kent Cooke (owner of the Lakers and founding owner of the Kings).[8] The Canadian Cooke, who enjoyed ice hockey, was determined to bring theNational Hockey League (NHL) to Los Angeles. In 1966, the NHL announced that it wasadding six new franchises for 1967, and Cooke prepared a bid. The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission, which operated theLos Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, supported a competing bid headed byLos Angeles Rams ownerDan Reeves—who already had a hockey team at the Arena, theWestern Hockey League'sLos Angeles Blades. The Commission told Cooke that if he won the franchise, he would not be allowed to use the facility.
In response, Cooke planned to build a new arena in the Los Angeles suburb ofInglewood.[9] Nearly 30 years later, Cooke toldLos Angeles Times sportswriter Steve Springer that he remembered "one official representing the commission laughing at him" when Cooke said he would build in Inglewood. Cooke won the franchise, paying $2 million for the Los Angeles club, which he called the Kings. According to Springer, "Cooke went to Inglewood and built the Forum. Goodbye, Lakers. Goodbye, Kings."[citation needed] The round, $16 million[10] building was designed by Los Angeles architectCharles Luckman to be "reminiscent of Roman coliseums."[11] The arena seats 17,505 for basketball, 16,005 for hockey and up to 18,000 for musical concerts; although it has no luxury suites, it had 2,400club seats for events. More than 70% of the seats are between the goals, and no seat is more than 170 feet (52 m) from the playing surface.
During the Cooke era, the Forum hosted five NBA Finals in its first six years (1967–73). TheBoston Celtics celebrated both the1968 and1969 championships in the arena, the latter of which marked the final gamesBill Russell ever played. The Lakers won the1972 NBA Finals at the Forum in Game 5, while theNew York Knicks' second and most recent championship was also clinched in a Game 5 at the same venuethe following season.
Cream played two shows during the band's farewell tour, on October 18–19, 1968, withDeep Purple as the opening act. The band's show of October 19 produced the live tracks on their farewell LP,Goodbye. Deep Purple also recorded their part of the show, which was later released as a live album entitledInglewood – Live in California.The Jimi Hendrix Experience performed at the Forum for the first time on April 26, 1969. A soundboard recording of this concert has been officially released:Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969 (Live). Opening acts for this sold-out concert wereCat Mother andChicago. The Experience later performed there again the following year on April 25, 1970, as part of their final U.S. tour. The concert has been widely circulated thanks to 3 available bootleg audience recordings. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young recorded shows in June and July 1970, including at the Forum. Some of them ended up on their 1971 live album,4 Way Street.The Rolling Stones performed at the Forum during their 1969, 1972 and 1975 North American tours.Steppenwolf played there during theirAt Your Birthday Party tour on July 14, 1969, withThree Dog Night as the opening act. Three Dog Night recorded their set, which was later released as a live album entitledCaptured Live at the Forum.
Queen played a total of 12 concerts from 1977 to 1982, including their final U.S. concert withFreddie Mercury on September 15, 1982.David Bowie played concerts here on April 3, 4, and 6, 1978.Chicago played two long sets in front of nearly 18,000 people as the headline act on April 24, 1971. This performance was two weeks after their historic week-long sellout atCarnegie Hall where they played eight shows in six days from April 5 to 10, 1971. TheGrateful Dead performed at the Forum during their vaunted Spring 1977 tour, as well as three-night runs in February and December 1989. Between 1970 and 1977,Led Zeppelin performed 16 times at the Forum, including a run of six sold-out dates in 1977. Part of their live album,How the West Was Won, was recorded at the arena. The band's first 1977 show is the source of thebootlegListen to This Eddie. Another bootleg from the Forum shows,For Badgeholders Only, contains one of the last live performances byKeith Moon on drums, with his surprise performance there.The Jackson 5 performed numerous times at the Forum between 1970 and 1981. The 1970 show broke attendance records, with 18,675 paid admissions and a gross income of $105,000 (when the Jackson 5 had released two albums and three singles). By 1972, they had released seven albums onMotown, in addition toMichael andJermaine Jackson's solo albums. Both shows were recorded and released asLive at the Forum.
On November 14, 1970,Elvis Presley played afternoon and evening shows, with 18,700 and 18,698 paid admissions. He returned for two more sold-out shows on May 11, 1974, with 18,500 paid admissions each.The Osmonds performed two shows on December 4, 1971, which were recorded and released asThe Osmonds Live.Barbra Streisand performed on April 15, 1972, duringFour for McGovern, a fundraiser forGeorge McGovern's presidential campaign. Although ticket prices ranged from $5.50 to $100 and the event grossed $300,000, after expenses were deducted McGovern's campaign received only $18,000. During her set, Streisand asked the audience to choose between "Second Hand Rose" and "Stoney End" for her next song; the latter was the overwhelming choice. Her performance was recorded and released asLive Concert at the Forum.[12]
Bob Dylan's live albumBefore the Flood withThe Band was compiled from songs performed at the Forum over the course of three shows on February 13 and 14, 1974. The only song on the album not recorded at the Forum was "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", which was recorded in New York City.Jethro Tull played five sold-out shows in a seven-day stretch in 1975, here at The Forum. The dates were February 3+4, 8–10.
Kiss had their debut there in 1976 on February 23 for two consecutive nights, three days after getting their footprints outsideGrauman's Chinese Theatre inHollywood and played three more consecutive nights shows the following year, 1977, on August 26–28 (the first of these shows sold out), with live tracks from these 1977 shows included on their second live album,Alive II, released in October of that same year. On June 21, 1976,Paul McCartney andWings began a three-night stand at the Forum during theirWings Over the World tour. The shows were McCartney's first live performances in Los Angeles since he played at the Hollywood Bowl in 1964 and 1965 withthe Beatles. Some songs played at the Forum appeared on theWings Over America live LP released later that year and re-released in 2013.
TheEagles performed three shows during theirHotel California tour on October 20–22, 1976. The shows were recorded, with some songs appearing onEagles Live. TheBee Gees appeared at the Forum during theirChildren of the World tour on December 20, 1976; the show was recorded and released asHere at Last... Bee Gees... Live.Parliament-Funkadelic recorded half of their live album,Live: P-Funk Earth Tour, at the arena on January 19, 1977.Alice Cooper brought his big productions ofBillion Dollar Babies,Welcome To My Nightmare andMad House Rock to the Forum.
TheLos Angeles Strings of theWorld Team Tennis league played home matches at the Forum from 1975 to 1978, led on the court byChris Evert. The team was owned by Los Angeles businessmanJerry Buss. The Forum hosted several boxing fights, most notably the secondMuhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton on September 10, 1973. Several events featured Latin American fighters likeJosé Nápoles,Chucho Castillo,Rubén Olivares,Carlos Zárate Serna andAlfonso Zamora.[13] In 1979, Cooke sold the Forum, the Lakers and the Kings to Buss for a then-record $67.5 million.
The Lakers were successful during the 1980s with theirShowtime era, winning five NBA championships and making theNBA Finals every year except1981 and1986. They won the1982,1987 and1988 championships at the Forum. ThePhiladelphia 76ers andDetroit Pistons were the only visiting teams to win a championship at the Forum during this period; both teams clinched the title in a Game 4 sweep in1983 and1989 respectively. The Lakers' owner, Jerry Buss, also purchased theLos Angeles Strings expansion franchise of the second incarnation of TeamTennis (the original team and league having folded in 1978) and appointed his 19-year-old daughterJeanie Buss as the tennis team's general manager, with all home matches played at the Forum.
In 1981,Diana Ross filmed the concert portion of herDiana television special at the Forum, entering the arena through the audience and singing her 1980 Billboard top-five hit "I'm Coming Out". Guests includedQuincy Jones (who conducted a performance of "Home" fromThe Wiz) andMichael Jackson, who joined Ross onstage for a performance of her 1980 number-one song "Upside Down". The special began with Ross in a photo session atop the Forum in a silverlamé bodysuit with large, silver-lamé wings. On December 10, 1981,Devo performed at the Forum during theirNew Traditionalists tour.[14][15] In April 1982, the Forum was the site of the "Miracle on Manchester", in which the Kings overcame a 5–0 deficit in a first-roundStanley Cup playoff game against theEdmonton Oilers to win 6–5 in overtime. With additional upset wins in Games 1 and 5 of the five-game series, the Kings eliminated the heavily favored Oilers to reach the second round.
In September 1982, on theirHot Space Tour,Queen played their final U.S. concert ever at the Forum.Fleetwood Mac played two shows during itsMirage tour on October 21–22, 1982, withDave Mason opening. The shows, originally scheduled for October 4–5, were postponed whenStevie Nicks developedwalking pneumonia. They were recorded for the band's tour video, which was televised in 1983.[16] In 1984, the Forum hosted thebasketball tournaments and the men'shandball finals of the1984 Summer Olympics.[17] The arena hostedAmnesty International's June 6, 1986A Conspiracy of Hope benefit concert, headlined byU2 andSting and featuringBryan Adams,Jackson Browne,Peter Gabriel,Lou Reed,Joan Baez andthe Neville Brothers.
Sting played the Dream of the Blue Turtles Tour on June 6, 1986, and the Nothing Like the Sun Tour on March 21 and 22, 1988.Genesis played five consecutive sold out[18] concerts at the Forum from October 13 to 17, 1986, during the first leg of theirInvisible Touch Tour. On September 30, 1987, formerPink Floyd memberRoger Waters played the Forum on the US leg of hisRadio K.A.O.S (tour).Iron Maiden performed on July 12, 1988. Rock bandsAC/DC andCinderella performed on November 13, 1988. Mexican boxerJulio César Chávez fought at the venue againstRuben Castillo in 1995, Vernon Buchanan in 1988 andRoger Mayweather in 1989. In 1989,Neil Diamond set the all-time attendance record at the Forum by surpassing his already leading record of seven sold-out shows (in 1983) with 10 sold-out shows. For doing so, Diamond was presented with a gold plaque, stating his accomplishment(s).[19]
On December 5, 1988, it was announced that Jerry Buss sold the arena'snaming rights toGreat Western Savings & Loan,[20] coinciding with the arrival in Los Angeles of hockey starWayne Gretzky. The building exterior was repainted blue, replacing its original "California sunset red." It was renamed the Great Western Forum; the name was retained for several years, even after Great Western was acquired byWashington Mutual (nowChase) and ceased to exist. Although naming-rights agreements are now commonplace in major American sports, they were rare at the time of Buss's deal with Great Western.[21] There was some initial criticism of the name change, and local residents continued to call the arena "the Forum."[22][23] Adverse reaction was eventually muted as the Great Western Forum monicker proved to be a natural fit for the venue, which was at the time the highest-profile arena in thewestern United States's largest population center.[24]
Before the 1991–92 NBA and NHL seasons, a new scoreboard was installed, replacing the one in use since the building opened in 1967. The original scoreboard, designed by All American Scoreboards inPardeeville, Wisconsin, had a two-line message board on each side (the third electronic message board in the NHL, and the second in the NBA). The new scoreboard, designed byDaktronics, kept the two-line message boards and added aSonyJumbotron scoreboard on each side.
The Forum hosted the1991 NBA Finals and was the site of theChicago Bulls' first NBA championship victory. It also hosted Games 3 and 4 of the1993 Stanley Cup Finals between the Kings andMontreal Canadiens, the only time theStanley Cup Finals was held at the arena. Coincidentally, Montreal's home rink at the time was also calledthe Forum.
By the middle of the decade, the Great Western Forum was considered too small; it lackedluxury boxes and had insufficient retail and commercial space. Los Angeles officials, seeking to redevelop the city center, began planning a new downtown sports arena and entertainment complex and hoped to attract the Lakers and Kings from Inglewood.
The Kings' owners, who were real-estate developers, agreed to develop the complex; Buss agreed to move the Lakers into the new arena as co-tenants with the Kings and a third tenant, the NBA'sClippers, who would move there from theLos Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. The new Staples Center (nowCrypto.com Arena) opened on October 17, 1999; as part of the deal, Buss sold the Great Western Forum to the L. A. Arena Company (which was controlled by the Kings' owners).
The Kings played their final regular season NHL game at the Forum, a 3–2 loss to theSt. Louis Blues, on April 18, 1999. Coincidentally,Wayne Gretzky, who had previously played for both teams, played his final NHL game (as a member of theNew York Rangers) on the same day. The Kings' final game at the Forum was an 8–1 preseason win over theMighty Ducks of Anaheim on September 20, 1999. As the Staples Center had not yet opened, the Kings played their remaining preseason home games at theSan Diego Sports Arena and theMGM Grand Garden Arena inLas Vegas. The Lakers' 118–107 playoff loss to the NBA championSan Antonio Spurs on May 23, 1999, was their last postseason game played at the Forum. The Lakers played two preseason games at the Forum before the 1999–2000 season before moving to the Staples Center.[25]
TheLos Angeles Sparks played their 2000 season at the arena before following the Lakers and Clippers to Staples Center. The Great Western Forum hosted live events, offices and training facilities for the 2000–2001Women of Wrestling season.
Faithful Central Bible Church, with a congregation of over 12,000, purchased the Great Western Forum at the end of 2000 and began holdingchurch services there on Sunday mornings.[26] UnlikeHouston'sLakewood Church, which converted the formerSummit into their church, Faithful Central representatives said that they never intended to convert the arena for religious purposes; in 2009, the church discontinued their regular use of the Forum for services.[27]
During the Faithful Central ownership, the arena was available for concerts, sporting events and other activities requiring a large venue. It was owned by the church's for-profit entity, Forum Enterprises, which accommodated secular and pop-music artists. The church influenced the approval of performers, however; in 2005 and 2009 the Forum refused to allow performances byheavy metal bandLamb of God, whose former name was Burn the Priest.[citation needed]
On February 14, 2003,Phish began their first post-hiatus tour at the Forum. A fan jumped onstage during "AC/DC Bag", and they performed a cover ofDr. Hook & the Medicine Show's "The Cover of Rolling Stone" after appearing on the magazine's cover.[citation needed]
In 2003,Great Western's naming-rights contract on the building expired (despite being bought by Washington Mutual in 1997, their name had been retained in the interim), and Forum Enterprises changed the venue's name back to "the Forum". The Great Western corporate logo and the words "Great Western" remained on portions of the exterior, including the roof (with a logo visible to planes landing at LAX), and were slowly removed over time. The roof, which was the last part of the building to contain the "GW" logo and "Great Western Forum" name, would not be repainted until the MSG remodeling, when it was overlaid with the new "Forum Presented by Chase" logo.
In 2004,Madonna premiered theRe-Invention World Tour at the Forum, which was filmed for the documentaryI'm Going To Tell You A Secret.
The Forum was made available for film use, including interior shots for the 2002 filmLike Mike. TheFoo Fighters used the building as a setting for the music video for "All My Life" in 2003, featuring the building's exterior in its opening and closing shots. In 2008, a scene for the 2009 filmHannah Montana: The Movie and the video forWeezer's "Troublemaker" (from their 2008Red Album) were filmed outside the Forum.
Iron Maiden appeared during theirSomewhere Back in Time World Tour on February 19, 2008, withLauren Harris their opening act. Their live version of "The Number of the Beast" was included on the documentaryIron Maiden: Flight 666.
In May and June 2009, Michael Jackson rehearsed at the Forum for hisThis Is It concert series in London. After Jackson died onJune 25, 2009, footage of these rehearsals and those at Staples Center became part ofMichael Jackson's This Is It.
On October 9, 2009, the Lakers returned to the Forum for a preseason game against theGolden State Warriors to celebrate the team's 50th season in Los Angeles; the Lakers lost, 110–91.
In 2011,Prince began a 21-show run at the Forum.[28] After acquiring the arena in June 2012,the Madison Square Garden Company announced plans for a $50 million renovation.[29] The City of Inglewood made an $18 million commercial-rehabilitation loan, contingent on MSG's $50 million investment.[3][30] The arena was renamed "The Forum, presented by Chase" to reflect its sponsor,Chase Bank (which had incidentally purchased Great Western's legal successor, Washington Mutual, a few years earlier[31]), and its exterior returned to the original red. New features also included new lighting, new seating, LED video systems and HD screen and new retail.[32]
The Forum reopened with six concerts by theEagles during theirHistory of the Eagles – Live in Concert tour on January 15, 17, 18, 22, 24 and 25, 2014.[33][34] On March 15–16, the Forum hosted themen's freestyle wrestling World Cup.[35]
On May 17, 2014, the Forum hosted its first boxing card since 2001. MexicanJuan Manuel Márquez defeatedMike Alvarado for the WBO international welterweight championship, for the right to challenge world championManny Pacquiao. The event was broadcast byHBO'sBoxing After Dark, the first time since its 1996 premiere that the series presented a card from the Forum.[36] On May 16, 2015,Gennady Golovkin defeated Willie Monroe Jr. during a live broadcast on HBO Boxing.[37] Golovkin returned the following year on April 23, 2016, to battle Dominic Wade, which resulted in a second-round KO.[38]
On August 24, 2014, the arena hosted the2014 MTV Video Music Awards, the first major awards show at the Forum.[39] The arena was added to theNational Register of Historic Places on September 24, 2014.[40]
The Foo Fighters performed on January 10, 2015, to celebrate singer Dave Grohl's 46th birthday. Paul Stanley from Kiss, Tenacious D, Slash, Alice Cooper, Zakk Wylde, Perry Farrell, Trombone Shorty, David Lee Roth, and Motörhead's Lemmy all got up and performed with the band.[41][42][43]
On August 1, 2015, to complete theirR40 Live Tour, Canadian rock bandRush performed their final concert at the Forum.
On March 27, 2016, formerPink Floyd memberDavid Gilmour played his first ever concert at the Forum as the third show on the US leg of hisRattle That Lock Tour.
On June 4, 2016, theUFC 199 mixed martial arts event was held at The Forum.[44]
The Chicks (then known as the Dixie Chicks) played at the Forum on October 8, 2016, as part of theirDCX MMXVI World Tour. The performance was filmed and later released on DVD.
The Forum was the venue of the2015,2016 and2018Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.[45] In addition, the Forum hosted the 2016, 2017, and 2018iHeartRadio Music Awards,[46] 2016American Country Countdown Awards[47] and the2016 and2018 Teen Choice Awards.[48]
Juan Gabriel performed the final concert of his career on August 26, 2016, dying two days later.[49]
Kanye West performed six sold-out shows on October 25–27 and November 1–3, 2016 as a part of hisSaint Pablo Tour.
It hosted the2017 MTV Video Music Awards on August 27, 2017.[50]
On February 24, 2018, the Forum hosted the world championship Super Flyweight boxing match betweenJuan Francisco Estrada andSrisaket Sor Rungvisai.[51]
The Forum has also hosted theKROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas since 2014.
On December 29, 2018, theUFC 232 mixed martial arts event was held at the Forum as part of a short notice decision.[52]
On April 4, 2019, the Mexican promotionLucha Libre AAA Worldwide announced that its second event named AAA Invading LA in the United States with the event being its professional wrestling event in the venue.[53]
On April 6, 2019, Iranian singer Hamed Homayoun held a concert for 14,000 people at the venue, a record for all Iranian singers who have performed here, includingMohammad-Reza Shajarian andEbi. Forum management mentioned this performance as one of the venue's most memorable, and prepared a cake with Homayoun's image to commemorate the event.[54][55]
On October 11, 2019, Japanesekawaii metal bandBabymetal performed at The Forum, making them the first Japanese band to headline the arena. The show is part of the Metal Galaxy World Tour 2019, a promotional tour for the group's third albumMetal Galaxy, which released on October 11, 2019; simultaneously with the show.
On November 29 and 30, 2019, Americanthrash metal bandSlayer performed at the Forum, this event being their final show as the band headlined the arena on theSlayer Farewell Tour.[56]
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On March 24, 2020, Clippers ownerSteve Ballmer announced that he had agreed to acquire the Forum from MSG for $400 million. The acquisition was needed in order to enable the construction of the Clippers' newIntuit Dome in Inglewood; the Clippers accused MSG of using litigation to block construction of the new arena, which they feared would cannibalize the Forum's live events business.[57][58]
The venue was closed from March 2020 to July 31, 2021, due toCOVID-19.[59] The Forum reopened on July 31, 2021, hostingBellator 263. A concert by theFoo Fighters on July 17, 2021, was originally scheduled to be its first event, but it was postponed due to COVID-19 cases within the band's staff.[59]
In February 2022, it was announced thatAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) would host a live broadcast ofDynamite from the Forum on June 1, 2022, marking its first professional wrestling event since 2015.[60] In August 2023, it was announced that AEW would hostFull Gear at the Forum on November 18, 2023.[61] The event would be preceded by special episodes of its weekly showsRampage andCollision (the latter being a special Friday-night edition due to the PPV being on a Saturday) on November 17.[62]
On March 22 and 23,Dua Lipa performed two sold-out shows as part of herFuture Nostalgia Tour.
On April 4, 2022,Kia Motors, whose American headquarters are located inIrvine, acquired thenaming rights to the facility, renaming it Kia Forum.[63]
In October 2022,My Chemical Romance performed five sold-out shows at The Forum as part of theirReunion Tour.[64]
Harry Styles performed a 15-night residency at The Forum in October and November 2022 as part of hisLove On Tour.[65]
K-pop singerSUGA (akaAgustD) ofBTS took over The Forum for 3 sold-out nights, May 10–11 and 14, 2023, as part of hisD-Day Tour.
The Forum hosted the concluding matches of the2023 Valorant Champions, the world championship for thetacticalFPS video gameValorant, from August 24 to 26, 2023.[66]
On June 19,Kendrick Lamar hostedThe Pop Out: Ken & Friends at The Forum forJuneteenth and as a victory lap fromhis feud withDrake.[67]
K-pop singer-songwriterIU performed a sold-out show at The Forum on August 2, 2024, as part of herHEREH World Tour.[68]
Olivia Rodrigo hosted four sold-out concerts as part of herGuts World Tour on August 13–14 and 16–17, 2024, withThe Breeders serving as the opening act.
Billie Eilish hosted a series of five concerts on December 15, 16, 17, 20, and 21, 2024 as part of herHit Me Hard and Soft tour.[69]
The Forum co-hostedFireAid on January 30, 2025, to help relief efforts forthe wildfires affecting Southern California.[70]
On June 7, 2025, the arena hostedWorlds Collide, a cross-promotional wrestling event betweenWWE NXT andLucha Libre AAA Worldwide. It was held as a support event forMoney in the Bank 2025 at Intuit Dome.[71]
Rush, who played their final concert at the Forum 11 years earlier, will kick off their comeback tour (titled theFifty Something Tour) at the same venue on June 7 and 9, 2026.[72]
In the video gameGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the Los Santos Forum is based on the Kia Forum.
InGrand Theft Auto V, the building was renamed to the Maze Bank Arena.[73]
The Great Western Forum was one of the nation's first sports venues to cut a corporate sponsorship deal when it did so in 1988
I was simply happy that the banking company's name blended in so nicely. After all, some other bank could have bought the joint. The Lakers just have easily could have ended up playing in the Security Pacific Forum, or the Mitsui Manufacturers Forum, or even the Downey Savings Forum
The arrival of Shaquille O'Neal necessitated the trading of longtime center Vlade Divac, and the trading or renouncement of several other veterans
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