The church said it finalized its purchase of the 17,500-seat arena on Friday. "Jesus said, 'Do business until I return,' and that is our plan," says Kenneth C. Ulmer, who heads the 10,000-member church dominated by African-Americans.
The Forum sits on 29 acres at Manchester Boulevard and Prairie Avenue. It was the site of several championship games in the 1970s, when basketball's Lakers were lead by Hall of Famers Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor. In the '80s, The Forum became home to a new dynasty lead by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
The Lakers left the facility about two years ago for a new home at Staples Center in Downtown LA. Faithful Central Bible Church says it will rent out its newly acquired Forum property on the days when it's not holding religious services.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
