<P> The Staples Center has been referred to as "the deal that almost wasn't "</P> <P> Long before construction of the Staples Center broke ground, plans for the arena were negotiated between elected city officials, and real estate developers Ed Roski of Majestic Realty and Philip Anschutz . They had acquired the hockey team the Los Angeles Kings in 1995 and were in the beginning of 1996 looking for a new home for their team, which then played at the Forum in Inglewood . </P> <P> Majestic Realty Co. in conjunction with AEG were scouring the Los Angeles area for available land to develop an arena when they were approached by Steve Soboroff, then president of LA Recreation and Parks Commission . Mr. Soboroff requested that they consider building the arena in downtown Los Angeles adjacent to the convention center . The proposal intrigued Roski and Anschutz and soon a plan to develop the arena, the current Staples Center, was devised . </P> <P> Months of negotiations ensued between Philip Anschutz and city officials with Ed Roski and John Semcken of Majestic Realty Co. spearheading the negotiations for the real estate developers . The negotiations grew contentious at times and the real estate developers threatened to pull out altogether on more than one occasion . The main opposition came from Councilman Joel Wachs, opposed utilizing public funds to subsidizing the proposed project and councilwoman Rita Walters, who objected parts of it . </P>

How many courts does the staples center have