The Forum, in, the city of Inglewood, in Los Angeles County, is an entertainment venue built in 1967 by Jack Kent Cooke, former owner of the LA Lakers basketball team and the LA Kings Hockey team.
The Forum first opened its doors for a Los Angeles Kings hockey game on December 30, 1967. Aretha Franklin was the first musical act in January of 1968.
Sometimes referred to as “The House That Jack Built”, between 1967 and 1999, the Forum was home to several sports teams, including the Lakers, the Kings, the WNBA’s LA Sparks, and others. It was also often used for boxing matches.
In addition to Aretha Franklin, the Forum has hosted many of the top musical acts over the years, including Queen, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, KISS, the Jackson 5, Prince, Sting, Paul Simon, Genesis, James Brown, and many more.
I attended many Lakers Games at the Forum in the 1980’s and 1990’s. I have also seen many concerts there. I saw Prince at the Forum in 2011 when he performed 21 shows as part of his Welcome 2 America tour. Most recently, in September 2024, I saw Earth, Wind & Fire and Chicago at the Forum.

The forum was designed by Los Angeles architect Charles Luckman to be "reminiscent of Roman coliseums." The building seats 17,000 without internal support pillars. The Forum’s sixty-foot tall arches are framed by an interior red wall and “brilliant lights.”
The Forum has gone through several ownership changes over the years. In 1979, Cooke sold the Forum, the Lakers and the Kings to Jerry Buss. In 2000, the Forum was acquired by the Faithful Central Bible Church, which used it for occasional church services and leased it for sporting events, concerts, and other events. In 2012, the Forum was purchased by the Madison Square Garden Company (MSG). MSG carried out a major renovation until 2014. The Forum reopened with six concerts by the Eagles during their History of the Eagles – Live in Concert tour in January, 2014. On March 24, 2020, Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer purchased The Forum from MSG for $400 million.
The Forum has also gone through a few name changes over the years. In December 1988, Jerry Buss sold the arena's naming rights to Great Western Savings & Loan. It was then renamed the Great Western Forum. The Forum was nicknamed "the Fabulous Forum" by long-time Lakers play-by-play announcer Chick Hearn. On April 4, 2022, Kia Motors acquired the naming rights to the facility, renaming it the Kia Forum. It is commonly referred to as the LA Forum, or the Inglewood Forum. Locally, people most often refer to it simply as The Forum.
On September 24, 2014, the Forum was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The video below is a clip of Earth, Wind & Fire preforming the song “September” at the Kia Forum, September 6, 2024.
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