First Sports Event Planned for Revamped L.A. Forum

USA Wrestling has announced that the 2014 Freestyle Wrestling World Cup will be held at the Forum, presented by Chase, March 15–16 in Inglewood, California. The event will mark the first sports competition to be staged at the renovated arena that once was home to the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Kings.

The Freestyle Wrestling World Cup is the annual international dual meet championships and will feature the top 10 men’s freestyle wrestling teams in the world. Armenia, Georgia, India, Iran, Japan, Mongolia, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United States will compete and were invited based on final team standings at the 2013 World Championships.

The Forum re-opened on January 15 after a significant renovation. For the Freestyle Wrestling World Cup, it will be configured specifically for international wrestling, with a seating capacity of approximately 7,500.

“We are thrilled to welcome the 2014 Freestyle Wrestling World Cup as our first sporting event since the ‘Fabulous Forum’ re-opened in January,” said Sid Greenfeig, senior vice-president of west coast business operations for the Forum. “The Forum’s intimate ambiance will make everyone feel as though they’re a part of the action as the world’s best freestyle wrestling teams go head to head. We look forward to attracting even more select sporting events that take advantage of the venue’s uniqueness and deliver on our promise to provide the very best in entertainment.”

The most recent Freestyle Wrestling World Cup was held in Tehran, Iran, in February 2013, with Iran winning the team title, Russia placing second and the United States placing third.

This will be the second major international wrestling event held in Los Angeles within a year. United4Wrestling, which featured the United States, Russia and Canada competing in men’s and women’s freestyle wrestling, was hosted at the L.A. Coliseum on May 19, 2013. This event was staged to help wrestling display its worldwide appeal and retain its status as an Olympic sport after the International Olympic Committee had threatened to remove it from the Olympic program.