Ladies and Gentleman, Welcome to the Staples Center, home of your Los Angeles... umm... who's playing today?

Four major North American professional sports leagues, 122 professional sports teams, 50 cities, 110 professional sport arenas/stadiums.  Wait, what?  Yes.  It may come as no surprise to many of you that there are multiple cities with multiple teams, and not enough venues for the number of teams.  This idea was popularized in the 1960's by cities that wanted to keep, or draw in, professional sports teams, but did not want the cost of maintaining 2, 3, 4 separate venues.  Who can blame them?


In a lot of cases, it makes sense.  Like in Chicago where the Blackhawks and Bulls share the United Center.  Or in Boston, Celtics and Bruins, TD Banknorth Garden.  In total, there are 12 arenas that are shared by multiple teams.  It's chaotic, for sure, for the arena staff of the venue.  The constant need to cover the ice, lay down the floor, assemble bleachers, wax, buff, polish the floor.  Then, do it in reverse order to get back to hockey.  In most cases, it's a well oiled machine that many places have down to a science.  But no situation is more ridiculous than the one in Los Angeles.


The Lakers, Clippers, and Kings all play in the Staples Center.  Now, for the sake of the argument, disregard the Kings (most of Los Angeles seems to anyway they play a different sport and don't factor into the argument).  Anyway, the Lakers and the Clippers both play basketball (shocker!) and both are in the Western Conference.  Now, the real kicker is that they're both in the Pacific Division.  What?! 

How can you have two teams, in the same city, in the same division share an arena?  As a Mets fan, it may sound a bit hypocritical.  But you have to realize, the Mets and Yankees not only have their own stadiums (which has been the case for every year but 1975), and they're in different leagues, meaning they're in different divisions.  So, basically, their biggest competition is fighting for time on the back page of the Post and the Daily News.  Even the Jets and the Giants, the only other pair of teams to play the same sport in the same venue, are in different conferences and divisions and rarely, if ever, play each other head-to-head in regular season games.

So, it's ridiculous to have two teams that have to not only fight for fans in the same market, but have to share a stadium.  Now, I would hope that each team gets it's own locker room.  I can't imagine the Staples Center staff has to worry about putting down a Clippers carpet on the floor of the locker room, and the next day lay down the Lakers rug.  The other problem is the headache it must cause for the NBA and teams' front offices.  Not only do they all have to coordinate with the NHL and the Kings when scheduling home games, they have to coordinate with another NBA team.  And how do you decide who gets the home game, the Lakers or the Clippers?  How can any of them have a home game against the other.  Having gone to multiple Mets/Yankees games, neither team really has a home field advantage, even when their in their opponents park because fans from both teams fill the stands and it's usually a 50/50 split.

So, I can only imagine that fans who only ever have to travel as far as the Staples Center are even more consistently split 50/50.  The only difference is what the floor looks like. 

 

During a Lakers game, is the Clippers merchandise store open?  What about during a Clippers game, can I buy a Kobe jersey?  Do they share a merchandise store?  Do they each have their own stores?  Or does the staff have to empty the shelves of Clippers gear and replace it with Lakers gear in time for the next game, and vice versa?  Just more of the ridiculous questions that I'm sure have legitimate answers that I don't know.  So, if anyone has answers, please, let me know.  

If you're either team, why is this a good arrangement?  Maybe the rent is lower, but why would the Lakers, the storied franchise of Johnson, West, Abdul-Jabbar, Bryant, want to share an arena with... the Clippers....?

On the flip side, why would the Clippers, often regarded as the other LA team, want to perpetually live in the shadow of the Lakers? 

Isn't it bad enough that the Clippers, until recently, were playing terribly and drawing low attendance numbers?  So isn't it just adding insult to injury that when the Clippers have low attendance, they're reminded that they have to play second fiddle to the Lakers?  I mean, even the arena, knows it... look at it's seats!

Lakers - purple and gold.  Clippers - red, white, and blue.  Staples center - purple seats.  I rest my case.

Take a moment to look at the picture above, even the adorably cute couple wearing Kings jerseys match the Staples Center.  The Kings and Lakers both have purple in their color schemes and the Staples Center accommodates that.  Let's also not forget the WNBA Sparks, who share a color scheme with the Lakers.  Even they look more at home than the Clippers... tough out of luck.

So what DO the Clippers get?  Well, Blake Griffin, for one.  So, I guess that counts for something.

But seriously, depending on the lighting, the OUTSIDE of the building is Clippers colors.  So, there's that...

So what solutions are there?  The Lakers move out?  The Clippers move out?  Both are original tenants of the Staples Center, which opened in 1999, so how do you decide who leaves?  You can't.

I just think it's ridiculous that BOTH teams were invited in the first place.  And who decided on the purple seats?  I mean honestly?  So, what can be done? 

I'm asking.  This isn't rhetorical, because I don't know the answer.  I've never been to LA, so I don't know if this is a legitimate problem.  I just think it's a little ridiculous. 

And that... is what's going on in Bronto's Brain.