The lease that the Clippers signed with the Staples Center will be up at season's end and it is no sure thing that they will be back in 2005.

Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns Staples Center and the Kings hockey team, told Downtown News on Monday that AEG is contemplating whether it wants to extend the Clippers' lease.

"We actually would make more money if instead of having 40 Clippers games we had five concerts," Leiweke told Downtown News. "The Clippers' issue is in negotiations now. Their lease is up after this year and ironically, shockingly, we've got to make a decision as to whether we even want them back. We're not sure."

Southern California has many arena alternatives, including the Pond in Anaheim and the L.A. Sports Arena, the old home of the Clippers.