Can the Charles Luckman-designed 1967 Forum in Inglewood regain its stature? The Los Angeles Times reports that the owners of Madison Square Garden in New York are in final negotiations to buy the venue for $20 million- $25 million. Under their plan, the Forum would be renovated--the buyers plan to spend at least another $40 million to fix up the place--to compete with Staples on the concert circuit. More about the sale: "The transaction would be a godsend for Forum Enterprises, a for-profit arm of Faithful Central Bible Church, which paid $22 million to buy the Forum in 2000, intending to use it as a new home for its services and to build a family entertainment center that would generate jobs in an underserved area of Los Angeles. Those development plans never materialized and the huge round building lined with trademark Roman columns became a white elephant." While concert tickets overall are struggling, Tom Morello, lead guitarist of Rage Against the Machine, says the Forum is an appealing place to pay for musicians because it offers "a respite from the sterility of corporate luxury-box venues." Other music industry experts wonder if the Forum's new owners will strike an exclusive deal with Live Nation.
· L.A. Forum poised to reenter spotlight [LAT]
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