The brand new Intuit Dome gave basketball fans a tour for the first time on Monday night, as the Los Angeles Clippers welcomed the Dallas Mavericks to a preseason match.
The Dome has been used to host concerts since August, but this is the first match in the over $2 billion vision of Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. Fans poured in through doors using facial recognition. ‘
There was a double-sided halo board displaying photos, videos, statistics, and lots more.
Los Angeles was one of the three franchises using crypto.com Arena, sharing the space with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings. Now they have their own court.
“It’s a great feeling to have a place to call home. Guys are very excited about it,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “Our whole organization is excited about it. Tonight our fans get the chance to see a part of it. You have a chance to have our own place we call home. You can leave your shoes in the locker room and come back tomorrow and they’ll be there. We have our own place and own building and everything is secure.”
Ballmer showed off the new arena On “60 Minutes,” which aired Sunday, He hoped it would give the Clippers a boost.
“Everything in my instinct says it will help our team, our basketball team, if our crowd team can really get into it and give them energy,” Ballmer said.
As fans entered the Dome, they were met with an 80,000-square-foot outdoor plaza with a basketball court this accessible to the public.
Patricia Blakemore was giddy with excitement when she arrived.
“It’s so high tech,” said Blakemore, who lives in nearby Manhattan Beach. “I have to say one of the things that makes me exceptionally happy is that from the moment we parked our car to get in here, the staff has been very helpful.”
Eric Swallow when asked how long he has been a Clippers fan, said since Monday. He just purchased season tickets.
“It’s a new stadium and it’s close to Manhattan Beach,” Swallow said. That was all it took for the Clippers to gain a new fan.
Also, Estelle Talleu and Matteo Decarlini visited from France to see the game at Los Angeles.
“I love basketball, and I wanted to see L.A. and this atmosphere,” Decarlini said. “In France, it’s not the same. There’s nothing like this. This arena is so big.”
Talleu loved the halo board: “It’s amazing.”
She took a lot of videos, a did many other fans in the nearly 18,000-seat Dome.
Furthermore, there is also an abundance of bathrooms, and Ballmer said about the 1,400 toilets on “60 Minutes.” There’s a good reason.
“I really hate it when people wait in line,” Ballmer told “60 Minutes.” “Waiting in line for toilets, I think is — it stops people from getting back into the game. People get frustrated.”
The Intuit Dome is busting with sports and entertainment. It is located less than a mile from Sofi Stadium; where the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers player. It is close to The Kia Forum too, which hosts concerts and the Lakers used to use.
Additionally, the arena is carbon-free and cashless and has several state-of-the-arts facilities.
Juvenal Martinez, who came to the game with his uncle said:
“The arena is good. I like it. I like all the technology and the facial scan to get in,” he said.
Ballmer started building the Dome in 2021 and launched it in August. It is slated to host many major events, like the 2026 All-Star Game and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“This is beautiful,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “To be able to practice here (Sunday) and have a shootaround here, they did an incredible job. I think Clippers fans should be happy. When you look at fan experience it will be like no other. It will be exciting to be the first visiting team to experience that.”
