The Los Angeles Clippers had a topping out ceremony on Tuesday at their upcoming new arena, the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. This was considered a big milestone and the next step towards the arena being on track to open by October of 2024.
The entire Clippers roster, coaching staff, and front office were in attendance, as well as Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, Intuit CMO Lara Balazs, and Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts.
Steve Ballmer couldn’t hold back his excitement.
“We are trying to build a basketball mecca here and I wanted to make a certain kind of a statement and that is why we went dome,” Ballmer stated with excitement. “We are the Intuit Dome.”
Ballmer went viral on social media for talking about the number of toilets the arena will have.
“Toilets! 1,160 toilets and urinals,” Ballmer said. “Three times the NBA average. We do not want people waiting around. We want them back to their damn seats.”
Details And Specifications
The $2 billion dollar arena’s capacity is expected to seat 18,000 and is designed by AECOM. The arena will have an 85,000 square foot practice and training facility. It will also have an outdoor plaza with a large LED screen, a concert stage, and basketball courts that will be open to the public for fans.
Ballmer also states the arena will have a specific seating area inside called “The Wall” which is a steep portion of seating of fifty-one rows with no suites and for Clippers fans only. Ballmer describes it as “almost like a student section at a college game.” The Clippers owner wants the team to have as much of a home court advantage as possible.
This will be the first time that Inglewood will have an NBA team since 1999 when the Los Angeles Lakers last played there before moving downtown to the Staples Center, which is now Crypto.com Arena.
The Clippers have played second fiddle to their crosstown rival Lakers historically. Ballmer wants to separate the franchise from that spotlight and start something new with his imprint. 2024 will be an exciting next chapter for the Clippers and their fans.
