Makeover Unveiled For The Forum In Inglewood

INGLEWOOD (CBSLA.com/AP) — The Forum in Inglewood is getting a multimillion-dollar makeover as the new owner unveils plans to restore the former home of the Lakers to a venue that can once again draw the biggest names in pop music.

The Madison Square Garden Co. offered details Tuesday at a news conference.

The Forum was a major sports and concert venue for decades, hosting the likes of Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones as well as professional teams like the Lakers and Los Angeles Kings. The venue fell on hard times when the modern Staples Center opened in 1999.

"Somebody wasn't paying attention and the music died in 1999," Inglewood Mayor James Butts said. "Until this day."

MSG bought it last year for $23.5 million from the Faith Bible Church in its first business venture west of the Mississippi River.

The company is putting more than $70 million into an upgrade that includes a new paint job, floor and 17,500 red velvet seats. The Forum will reopen on Jan. 15 with a three-night concert series by The Eagles.

The exterior will also be painted a "sunset" red.

MSG has recently rehabbed Radio City Music Hall and the Beacon Theatre and is nearly finished with a $1 billion Madison Square Garden facelift.

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