The Los Angeles Clippers officially held the groundbreaking for their new arena, the Intuit Dome, last week. The event allowed fans, players, and media an inside look at what Steve Ballmer and the organization have up their sleeves for the world-class stadium scheduled to open in time for the 2024-25 season.
Here's a look at some of the new things Ballmer highlighted as features of the Intuit Dome.
Clippers' Intuit Dome features
Toilet-to-Person Ratio
The Intuit Dome is expected to house 640 restrooms, twice as many as in any other arena. If you've ever gone to an event inside an arena such as Staples Center, you know how bad the lines are for the restroom.
Leaked photos of menâs bathroom at the Intuit Dome https://t.co/NOQcIHzC5T pic.twitter.com/tTIhc0kpm6
â zoob (@JZoob) September 20, 2021
Steve Ballmer did a fantastic job explaining his fascination with restrooms when it comes to the fan experience.
âThe thing I hate most in life about arenas is the wait for the bathroom,â Ballmer said during the groundbreaking event. âWe've all missed a key play or a song because we were waiting in line. I don't wanna wait in lines for the damn bathroom. I'm not ashamed to admit, actually, I've become real obsessive about toilets. What do they look like, how do they get deployed. They keep getting on me, âYou're supposed to be calling them fixtures,' but they're the same thing.
âIf you go in the upper bowl in Utah, they have a ratio where you get 79 people per bathroom fixture. Pretty good, pretty efficient. In our place, we're only gonna have 27 people per bathroom fixture. Is it a big deal? It is a big deal when the game's tied in the fourth quarter, there's no question about that. Nature calls? We need you back quick.
âYou don't have to hustle. You walk, take care of your business, you come back, all during the timeout. We think we've got that down. I can tell ya, the architects said we're putting in a whole lot more toilets than anybody else in the NBA.
https://youtu.be/EdQNwGwi4ZI?t=2959
It's funny to think about now, but it definitely enhances the fan experience just to know you won't have to wait forever to go to the restroom.
đ” All of the Lights đ”
Inglewood is going to be home of the halo scoreboards. SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers, has a giant halo scoreboard around the top of the arena for a view no matter where you sit. The Clippers are going to have a similar scoreboard.
Here are some images of what the Intuit Dome, the future home of the Clippers, will look like. pic.twitter.com/tnTylGARlD
â Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) September 17, 2021
The Clippers' new stadium will have a two-sided Halo Board 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 have the ability to show any advanced stats and replays to the Halo Board.
The Suite Life
As with every arena, suites are crucial for those who want to enjoy the big game but also want the privacy of a suite. They're calling these the Halo Suites.
The Clippers have begun taking deposits for new, premium suites in the Intuit Dome, which will break ground later this morning.
â Courtside Cabanas
â Backstage Bungalows
â Halo Suites pic.twitter.com/2w3slaJPivâ Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 17, 2021
The Clippers' Intuit Dome, however, is going to focus mainly on the fans. That means the 18,000-seat arena is going to primarily focus on fan experience with regards to seats, size of chairs, spacing between rows, etc. Among the sections will be a 51 consecutive row section next to the opposing team's bench where fans will be able to rain down boos.
Hereâs an angle of what the baseline of the Clippersâ new Intuit Dome is expected to look like: pic.twitter.com/teJbcsTLI3
â Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) September 17, 2021
The Intuit Dome has been carefully planned out to provide the best experience for basketball fans (not hockey, like Paul George said!). While these Halo Suites will certainly play a part here, ultimately, the biggest thing Steve Ballmer wants is a crowd as engaged or even more engaged than he is next to the Clippers' bench.