No Arena Competition

This letter is in respect to the article about the Forum (“Staples Center’s Owners Agree to Buy the Forum,” June 28).

Do you really believe, as was stated in the story, that L.A. Arena Co. purchased the Great Western Forum for “overflow”? Obviously, the reason it purchased the Forum for $35 million was to take the only first-class arena competitor out of the business of competing for tenants. The $35 million is a bargain, because if anyone else wanted to build a first-class arena to compete with Staples Center, it could cost anywhere from $200 million to $300 million. This is a cheap insurance policy against competition.

Once again, the public loses because there is no competition. Staples Center will have a monopoly on sports teams and entertainment that requires a first-class venue, and can charge whatever outrageous amounts it wants to charge for tickets.

CRAIG M. FIELDS

Glickfeld, Fields & Jaffe

Beverly Hills