The LA Clippers will break ground on their brand new stadium today. The Inglewood-based arena is expected to be ready for the 2024-25 season, and will be named the Intuit Dome, the Los Angeles Clippers and Intuit Inc. announced today.

Intuit, a global technology platform that makes TurboTax, QuickBooks, Credit Karma, and Mint, will be entering a 23-year strategic partnership with the Clippers and will be the exclusive naming rights parter of the Intuit Dome. In August of 2020, the Clippers announced a global partnership with CAA Sports, a division of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), to bring to market the naming rights for the arena.

Clippers Intuit Dome Arena
LA Clippers, Intuit

“When we began the search for a partner for the LA Clippers and our new dome, we looked for one that shares our passion for technology, the pursuit of innovation and our commitment to customers, fans and community,” Clippers chairman Steve Ballmer said in a release. “Intuit is a perfect fit and we’re excited to be calling our future home the Intuit Dome.”

CNBC reports that the deal is worth over $500 million.

In an interview with ClutchPoints back in October 2019, Ballmer spoke about the surprise of running an NBA team in the same city as another.

“Look, I grew up in Detroit,” Ballmer said. “You don’t have anything but Pistons fans. I moved to Seattle, you had nothing but Sonics fans and now Seahawks fans. That’s it. One team, you root for your darn team, you might [be frustrated by] your team, but they’re still your teams.This crazy LA place… You’ve got two teams because it’s so damn big and you’ll get folks who are pretty rabid. They read the same publications. Sometimes, when they play each other, they come to games, you run into somebody on the street.

“The fact we play in the same building, we get the worst nights. It’s Monday Night Football? Who’s gonna play? The Clippers. That’s true by lease. Our lease says we get the least favorable nights after the Kings and the Lakers. That’s an unusual thing. If you look at all the statues that are outside, you’re not gonna see any Clippers statues out, so there’s that.”

Now, the Clippers are set to have their own, world-class arena. Here's some of what to look forward to.

The state of the art Intuit Dome is set to have the largest scoreboard ever assembled for an arena. The scoreboard, named the Halo Board, will be two-sided with 44,000 square feet of LED lights, more than six times the size of a typical stadium's screens. The Clippers' analytics team that works with head coach Tyronn Lue will be able to post some of the advanced stats and replays to the Board.

Right by the visiting team's bench will be what's called ‘The Wall.' Intuit Dome's ‘Wall' will feature 51 consecutive rows of seats, including a standing rail sitting area. It's expected to be the loudest region in the arena and placed where the opposing team will have no choice, but to feel their energy.

The Intuit Dome will house two full-length basketball courts. One, of course, will be where the Clippers will play in front of 18,000 fans. The other will a mirror image of the court the team plays on, except it'll be used for charity events, celebrity pick-up games, company outings and as a conference space. The secondary court will be named The ‘Ballmer Court.'

Clippers, Kawhi Leonard, Intuit Dome
ONEHOUSE

Just outside the Intuit Dome is the 80,000 square foot plaza, a place for fans to convene for whatever their heart desires. One corner is expected to house the Clippers' Team Store, another will house a restaurant, and the final two corners are expected to feature bars and lounges. A full-sized basketball court will be placed at the center of the plaza where fans can play basketball before and after events as well as on days with no games. Additionally, the outdoor court in front of the Intuit Dome is expected to have a large video board that will give fans an inside look at the action going on inside the arena. It'll even be on when the Clippers are playing on the road.

Food and beverages are essential to any sports viewing experience, which is why the Clippers' Intuit Dome will have two options to get theirs. Fans will have the ability to order, pay, and either receive food and drinks from their seats or walk over to the concession stands to pick it up themselves.

Construction of the Intuit Dome over the next three years is expected to generate more than 7,000 full-time and part-time jobs, which doesn't even include the 1,500 permanent full and part-time opportunities upon its completion. According to the team, '30 percent of the Intuit Dome’s construction force will be from minority and disadvantaged business enterprises, half of which will be based in Inglewood, and more than a third of permanent jobs will go to Inglewood residents.'

Lastly, the new Intuit Dome will generate an estimated $260 million in annual economic activity for the city of Inglewood and approximately $100 million in tax revenue over the first 15 years of operation. That money will help support vital city services such as parks, libraries and police and fire stations. The Clippers' one-of-a-kind basketball arena reflects the team’s commitment to being environmentally-friendly and energy efficient, while providing the City of Inglewood with the largest community benefits package ever connected to a sports venue at $100 million. Of the $100 million community benefits package, $80 million will go toward affordable housing in Inglewood, with $75 million to a non-profit loan fund that buys, preserves, and develops affordable housing in this area.

Intuit Dome, Clippers
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One of the biggest struggles the Clippers have had to deal with during their time at Staples Center has been the game scheduling. The franchise would repeatedly get unfavorable games scheduled after the Los Angeles Kings and Los Angeles Lakers made their picks. That often meant the Clippers would play Sunday and Monday home games at the same time the Los Angeles Rams or Los Angeles Chargers are playing.

This 2021-22 season, it mean the Clippers have to play a record five stretches of five-in-sevens (a stretch of five games in seven nights) while the team down the hallway will have three of them. Moving to their Intuit Dome would give the Clippers the freedom and flexibility to schedule their games whenever they want.

The Intuit Dome is scheduled to open for the 2024-25 season. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are both signed through the 2023-24 season at the very least, and both have player options for the 2024-25 seasons. It's far down the line, but it's possible the Clippers enter their new arena with their current stars on brand new deals.