The new pavilion of the Clippershe Intuit Domenever ceases to amaze as the fantastic details of what is already considered the best venue in the world become known. USA. Opened in Los Angeles, in the Inglewood neighborhood (very close to the legendary The Forum), last week with a concert by Bruno Mars, will be the new home of the Californian franchise.
With capacity for 18,000 spectators, It has cost 2 billion dollarshas five basketball courts (including an outdoor one with a giant screen) and the best technological and architectural advances, for example a novel natural cooling system. Beyond the tangible, beyond what is apparent at first glance with its beautiful and modern design, the Intuit has made the most ambitious dream of the owner of the Clippersthe billionaire Steve Ballmer, promoter of the work with private capital, mainly his own. According to Forbes he is the tenth richest man in the world and his fortune is estimated at $114.2 billion.
The Signal Iduna Park Wall in Dortmund.Efe
The businessman who was CEO of Microsoft (and owner of 9% of the shares of the technological multinational) has treated himself as if he were watching a movie stuffing yourself with popcorn, enjoying yourself. Ballmer has designed the arena according to his tastes as a basketball fan, with an area that by American standards could be considered ‘ultra’. For the first time in NBA history, the Intuit Dome will have a stand only suitable for die-hard fans of the Los Angeles team, where some of the NBA stars play, such as James Harden and Kawhi Leonarda franchise always in the shadow of the Lakers in Los Angeles.
The Clippersthe so-called ‘poor neighbor of LA’, have a history without great embellishments and with quite a few disappointments. It is one of the 10 teams (out of 30) of the current competition that has not been champion. It has never reached the NBA Finals since its founding as Buffalo Braves in 1970. He also played for several years in San Diego before settling in Los Angeles in 1984. Now, after sharing the court with the Lakers in the Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center) for 25 years, will have its own space in an area of the city, very close to LAX airport, revalued after the construction of the NFL’s SoFi Stadium, which will be the epicenter of the 2028 Olympic Games.
The Clippers’ announcement for The WallClippers
Ballmera well-known football fan and sports lover who usually wears his team’s scarf to matches, wanted to personalize the venue to make it unique in its category. He was inspired by the famous Yellow Wall (Gelbe Wand) of the Signal Iduna Parkthe stadium of Borussia Dortmundwhich offers one of the best football atmospheres in all of Europe. Champions League matches bring together 16,000 fans of the continental runner-up in that impressive stand.
The Clippers’ one is also called The Wall. It is located behind a basket of the Intuit Domenext to the visiting team’s bench (so that the rivals feel the pressure and the noise) and has from the court 51 uninterrupted rows (with a very vertical appearance, like a wall) without boxes: something countercultural within that spectacle of sport, leisure and consumption called an NBA game. In the right of admission in The Wall They are blunt. They simply do not let you pass. If you don’t root for the Clippers.
I wanted an arena that would be suitable for true basketball fans.
Steve Ballmer, majority owner of the Clippers
The stands are a sacred place, of only one cult. That is what is intended. There can be no ‘intruders’ neither dubious nor infiltrated. You are either a Clippers fan or you don’t exist. You will lose access to this tier if your behavior is passive, equidistant or irregular. Positioning is mandatory. And you will have advantages in raffles and club promotions if you show your loyalty and passion. The first objective is to make the team of Tyron Lue have ‘home court advantage’ in every game, something that in this championship in the regular season only happens in very few pavilions of the League, the TD Garden of the Celtics and the Madison Square Garden of the Knicksto name some of the ‘hottest’. The second challenge is to gain more fans for a not very relevant franchise (without so many fans and without championships) in a city with so much entertainment on offer.
To purchase tickets in The Wall of the Intuit Domeat the rate of $5,000 and $25,000 season tickets, not only can you not support the opposing team, something that in a city as touristic and sporty as Los Angeles, where the Lakersthe Dodgers and the Ramsamong others, can happen. You have to prove that you are a fan and wear official clothing of the Clippers or merchandise of the franchise (which has changed the design of the logo and will also debut a new shirt following the move to the new arena). Tickets, in case of absence at the matches, can only be resold at the internal club ticketing circuit.
A view of the Halo Board, Intuit’s double-sided board, with The Wall in the backgroundGetty Images
The goal is to get there sooner… and with Face ID
HE encourages arriving early to the pavilion. Except for the first three rows, the site is free as you enter the venue, where you do not need a ticket if you are registered in the Intuit app: it will work as a Face ID. This way there will be a home-field atmosphere, chants and merriment long before the start of the match. The mercury on the ambient thermometer will rise. It is guaranteed.
Surely, the Clippersfourth in the West last season in the regular season (51 wins and 31 losses) and eliminated in the first round by the Mavs (2-4) in the playoffs, they will notice this impact in the 24-25 campaign. Their official debut will be on October 23 against the Suns. Ballmer has not only thought of VIP fans despite the numerous themed restaurants on the premises and the lavish official Clippers store. Tickets for $30cannons to ‘shoot’ free t-shirts that reach the highest areas of the stands and free transport from five different points of Los Angeles.
Steve Ballmer at the opening of the Intuit Dome.Clippers
1,051 bathrooms
The idea of Ballmer was to change the experience of an NBA fan in a game and possibly achieve it. Intuit Domewhich will host the 2026 All Star Game and the Olympic basketball tournament in LA2028has an access to charge the mobile phone in each seat and is equipped with 1,051 bathrooms (three more than the usual average) in order to speed up the passage through the toilets for fans, who must not miss a single minute of the match or concert in question. Olivia Rodrigo performs today August 21st and tomorrow at Intuit.
“I have a point of view. I wanted an arena that would be suitable for true basketball fans and for music fans, because we’re going to have concerts. I wanted more noise, more presence, for people to be closer.” The scoreboard of the Halo Boarda giant double-sided screen, is five times larger than any other in the NBA. It has cost 100 million dollars and has 233 million pixels, a definition never seen before, like the concept of The Wall or by extension, the splendid Intuit Domethe pavilion of the 22nd century.
