By Hannah Madans Welk
LA Business Journal
The Intuit Dome is rising quickly in Inglewood. The roughly $2 billion project, set to open in August, will be home to Steve Ballmer’s Los Angeles Clippers starting next season.
The venue will host 75 to 100 concerts and other shows a year.
Some of the features at the arena include an acre-sized scoreboard, LED lights in every armrest, a bridge from the parking lot to the arena and an outdoor area in front of the Intuit Dome featuring a team store.
The technology used in the arena can, among other things, create unique light displays at concerts and events and be used to determine which sections of spectators are being the loudest and have the T-shirt cannon go to that area of the venue for interaction.
Jerseys from every high school basketball team in California and T-shirts from concerts held at the venue will be displayed.
“We obsessed over the details,” said Gillian Zucker, the Clippers’ president of business operations.
“As we thought about the facility, we thought about building it differently, we thought about how the facility would be used and what people wished they might have or dream of,” she added. “I think we’ve been able to achieve many of these things.”
Zucker toured venues worldwide and said she learned from all of them and sought to make the Intuit Dome perfect for both concerts and sporting events.
The facility included more dock-loading space than seen at most other venues, making it easier for performers to get set up.
“We want you to feel like it was built for you,” Zucker said.
Changes for the Clippers
Beyond just a new arena, the Intuit Dome will mark another big change for the Clippers: bringing all of its operations into one place. Currently, the team plays downtown, while its offices are in Playa Vista.
Intuit Dome features 71,000 square feet of office space and an 85,000-square-foot practice and training facility that boasts large windows and a sunken garden and pool for players.
The Clippers’ locker room features 7-foot-wide lockers, each capable of holding 36 pairs of sneakers.
The Intuit Dome also will feature bunker suites that give fans access to courtside seats in addition to the suites themselves.
The Clippers have partnered with hospitality company Levy to launch 310 Provisions, which will handle food and beverage services at the Intuit Dome.
The Clippers won’t be the only sports team in Inglewood.
The Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers play at nearby SoFi Stadium, which was recently built and has been met with much applause. Rams Owner Stan Kroenke’s Hollywood Park development also features other venues, retail, office space and apartments in addition to the stadium.
“You have to applaud Mayor (James) Butts for his vision; it’s really transformative what he’s been able to accomplish” in Inglewood, Zucker said.
