Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is on a mission to build a new arena, the Inglewood Basketball and Entertainment Center, by The Forum. Ballmer recently offered to buy The Forum and threw money at affordable housing so his team could build the new arena in Inglewood.
The Clippers want to break ground next year and finish the project by 2024 after their lease ends with Staples Center. This new home initiative isn't too different from the determination Ballmer showed when acquiring the team.
How did the former CEO of Microsoft wind up owning the Clippers and holding the title of the richest owner in the NBA?
Excellence at Microsoft
The Clippers owner is worth over $50 billion these days largely due to his success at Microsoft. Ballmer is by far the richest owner in sports and ranks in the top 20 for richest individuals worldwide.
He got involved with the unicorn after meeting Bill Gates at Harvard, where Ballmer graduated magna cum laude. Ballmer looked at jobs after a few years working at Procter & Gamble. Ballmer and Gates worked out a deal for Steve to come on as employee No. 30 in 1980.
Ballmer ascended to CEO in 2000, taking over for co-founder Gates. He gave over 30 years of his life to Microsoft, including the Xbox and Surface launches.
Perfect Sport
The Clippers owner grew up a Pistons fan and always had an immense love for the game. At Harvard, he got paid to take stats and was big into APBA, a stats-based, dice-rolling game that was a precursor to modern fantasy sports.
After his retirement from Microsoft in 2014, Ballmer sat down with the commissioners of the NBA and NFL individually to express his interest in owning a team.
Ballmer held season tickets to the Seattle SuperSonics for almost 20 years. However, it was clear he could not move a team to Seattle if he bought an NBA team. In 2013, Ballmer helped bid for the Kings to bring them to Seattle in a new arena. That eventually failed as NBA Commissioner David Stern intervened for Sacramento.
Previously, Ballmer also looked at the Milwaukee Bucks but said the owners did not want to sell to him. No NBA owner wanted to sell until Clippers owner Donald Sterling got caught saying racist statements and was booted out of the league.
Perfect Timing
Worth $20 billion in 2014, Ballmer got a call from his son about Donald Sterling and the Clippers. This created the opportunity Ballmer needed to own a team.
Later, Ballmer said the hardest part was figuring out who was selling the business. Eventually, Shelly Sterling stepped up to get the Clippers sold. Michael Eisner from Disney, whom Ballmer knew for a few years, eventually introduced Steve to Shelly.
Ballmer appealed as a solo bidder because Shelly’s lawyers anticipated a legal battle with Donald over the sale. They needed a buyer they could count on.
Perfect Price
Other Clippers bidders included a group with Oprah Winfrey and David Geffen. Ballmer laid out his bid as whatever the other bidders were willing to pay plus a percentage.
The Dodgers sale for $2.1 billion was the baseline, even though the Dodgers own more parking and stadium than the Clippers. No NBA team had ever been sold for $2 billion at the time. However, Ballmer understood business and assets cost a premium in Los Angeles, so he outbid everyone by almost half a billion.
A Clippers Dream
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sawwbg-RMH0
Ultimately, Ballmer's relentless desire to own a team combined with his cash and willingness to keep the Clippers in Los Angeles achieved his dream. Ballmer was the right bidder at the right time.
Now, Ballmer continues to show he is the perfect Clippers owner at the perfect time. Besides the investment in the arena and willingness to crowdsource the next rebrand, Ballmer's lifetime charitable donations are on par with his investment in the Clippers. This makes sense as he leads a franchise that routinely donates tickets, refurbishes the community and supports players contributions to the youth.
Full: Pete D. Camarillo was a Clippers intern during Steve Ballmer's first year as an owner. This article no way reflects any information gained from that season.
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