Madison Square Garden Buys Forum For $23.5M

NEW YORK (AP) — The Madison Square Garden Co. says it bought the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., for $23.5 million.

The historic arena opened in 1967 and was home to both the NBA's Lakers and NHL's Kings until they left for the Staples Center in 1999.

The venue also hosted generations of pop music acts, including Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Aerosmith and Nirvana. It's currently owned by the Faithful Central Bible Church, which uses it for services as well as concerts.

Madison Square Garden, which owns the namesake New York arena, along with the NBA's Knicks and the NHL's Rangers, says it plans to start renovating the Forum later this year.

Shares of Madison Square Garden rose 54 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $37.65 in morning trading, approaching their 52-week high of $38.90.

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