“We used to see rats at the Sports Arena, too. I don’t know how fans bought food at the snack bar,” Thompson said.
- The Clippers had numerous practice facilities, including a gym at Veterans Park in Carson, California, where the basketball court gym had a sewage problem. They also used to practice at L.A. Southwest College in South Central Los Angeles, where their cars often were broken into. Before moving into their current posh practice facility in Playa Vista, the Clippers practiced at a gym in a Manhattan Beach health club, where members would often walk through their practices to get to the parking lot, and members lifted weights and used exercise bikes alongside the players.
“I remember the toilets overflowing and sewage coming down the steps onto the court during one practice at Southwest College,” Thompson said.