Intuit Dome

Intuit Dome is an indoor arena under construction in Inglewood, California, United States. Located south of SoFi Stadium, it will be the future home of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), moving from the Crypto.com Arena.

Intuit Dome
Rendering of the arena
Intuit Dome is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Intuit Dome
Intuit Dome
Location in L.A. metro area
Intuit Dome is located in California
Intuit Dome
Intuit Dome
Location in California
Intuit Dome is located in the United States
Intuit Dome
Intuit Dome
Location in the United States
Former namesInglewood Basketball and Entertainment Center (planning phase)
LocationInglewood, California, United States
Coordinates33.9451°N 118.3431°W / 33.9451; -118.3431
Public transitMainline rail interchange Inglewood Transit Connector
K Line  Downtown Inglewood
Bus interchange Metro Local 212 from
C Line  Hawthorne/Lennox
OwnerMurphy's Bowl, LLC
TypeArena
Capacity18,000
Field size915,000 sq ft (85,000 m2)
Construction
Broke groundSeptember 17, 2021 (September 17, 2021)
Opened2024 (planned)
ArchitectAECOM[1]
General contractorAECOM Hunt Turner NBA JV
Tenants
Los Angeles Clippers (NBA) (beginning in 2024)
Website
Official website

After the Clippers were required to acquire another Inglewood venue to settle a legal dispute with The Madison Square Garden Company (owners of The Forum, the Lakers' former home arena) that sought to block its construction, a groundbreaking ceremony for the new arena was held on September 17, 2021, with construction expected to be completed in 2024, possibly in time for the 2024-25 NBA season.

History

The city of Inglewood approved an exclusive negotiating agreement with the Los Angeles Clippers to build a new, basketball-specific arena for the team, which would be located across from the then-under construction SoFi Stadium.[2] The Clippers had not had their own arena since they left the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena for Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena), which they share with the Los Angeles Lakers and the NHL's Kings.

Throughout the team's history, it never had any tangible ownership interest in any of its home arenas. The Clippers instead rented its previous venues in Buffalo's Memorial Auditorium as the Braves, where it held low priority beneath the Sabres and Canisius college basketball, then San Diego's Sports Arena when they became the Clippers, followed by the L.A. Sports Arena.

Its current deal with Crypto.com Arena, which besides allowing for a different Clipper court, requires a 'neutralization' process before and after each game to cover up Laker achievements, banners and sponsorships, along with its own court lighting pattern, and in tightly-scheduled weekends with both the Kings and/or musical concerts in addition to the Lakers, often requires that process to occur within a three- to four-hour window (along with cleanup of the seating bowl from the previous event).[3] Clippers owner Steve Ballmer saw the construction of a dedicated arena for the team as being a high priority.[3][4][5]

Lawsuits

Various lawsuits were filed to prevent the construction of the arena. Uplift Inglewood filed a lawsuit alleging that the agreement between the Clippers and Inglewood violated the state Surplus Land Act, which requires that proposals for affordable housing, recreation, and school projects be given preference when a city intends to sell its public land.[6] Mayor James T. Butts Jr. argued that the proposed site had already been deemed unsuitable for residential use due to its proximity to Los Angeles International Airport.[7]

The Madison Square Garden Company—owner of The Forum, a nearby arena in Inglewood that formerly served as the Lakers' home arena—were accused of using litigation to block the new arena, fearing that it would unduly compete with The Forum's live events business.[4] MSG paid the legal fees of Inglewood Residents Against Takings and Evictions (IRATE), another group that filed lawsuits opposing the arena.[6] In December 2018, the Clippers (via its subsidiary Murphy's Bowl, LLC) filed a countersuit against MSG over the matter.[4]

In March 2019, leaked emails revealed that Irving Azoff attempted to lure the Los Angeles Lakers back to The Forum after their lease of Staples Center was up. Despite nothing coming of the proposal, Azoff's proposal to re-purpose The Forum was seen as a way of preventing the LA Clippers from building their own arena in Inglewood and ensuring that the Madison Square Garden Company got an unfair advantage over rival AEG, which is a Lakers minority owner.[8] In November 2019, a judge ruled against Uplift Inglewood's lawsuit.[6] In December 2019, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved the new arena, after evaluating the arena's environmental impact.[9]

Construction

In March 2020, in a move to settle the litigation with MSG, Ballmer announced that he would acquire The Forum for $400 million in an all-cash deal. The sale was completed in May, with all existing employees retained under the new ownership. The acquisition of The Forum was considered to be the last major hurdle blocking the construction of the new arena.[10][11]

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 17, 2021. Ballmer described a goal for the new arena to be a "basketball palazzo".[12] A 23-year naming rights deal was announced with financial software company Intuit, naming the arena Intuit Dome.[13] The arena is expected to be completed in 2024.[12]

Construction was documented in the "L.A. Mega Stadium" episode of the National Geographic UK series Building Impossible with Daniel Ashville.[14]

Features

On July 25, 2019, the Clippers released renderings of the proposed arena.[15] The 18,000-seat arena will be designed by AECOM. It will include a practice facility, sports medicine clinic, team offices, retail space and a large outdoor plaza with basketball courts that will be open to the public.[16][17][18]

The practice facility will be 85,000 square feet (7,900 m2), the team offices 55,000 square feet (5,100 m2) and the sports medicine clinic 25,000 square feet (2,300 m2). An additional 40,000 square feet (3,700 m2) are set aside for retail and 260,000 square feet (24,000 m2) for the outdoor plaza.

References
  1. "L.A. Clippers unveil design for new Inglewood arena". Building Design + Construction. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  2. "New LA Clippers arena approved by Inglewood City Council". www.nba.com. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  3. "LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer still seeking Inglewood arena for team". NBA.com. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  4. "Inglewood arena row: LA Clippers launch MSG countersuit". SportsPro. 2018-12-18. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  5. "Lakers, Clippers, Kings share LA's Staples Center for playoffs games". KPCC (FM). 16 May 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  6. "Judge rules against lawsuit opposing proposed arena for Clippers". Los Angeles Times. November 7, 2019.
  7. Chiland, Elijah (June 19, 2018). "Inglewood residents sue to block Clippers arena". Curbed LA.
  8. "Must Reads: Lakers explored leaving Staples Center for return to Forum, emails reveal". Los Angeles Times. March 14, 2019.
  9. "Clippers Arena Gets Approval, Inglewood Rises Again". cityofinglewood.org. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
  10. Pedersen, Erik (2020-05-04). "Los Angeles Clippers Owner Steve Ballmer Closes Deal To Buy The Forum From MSG – Update". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  11. Young, Jabari (2020-03-25). "Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer buys the Forum for $400 million in cash". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  12. "The NBA's richest owner enters the arena arms race". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  13. Newcomb, Tim. "L.A. Clippers Partner With Intuit And Plan High-Tech Intuit Dome". forbes.com.
  14. Channel, National Geographic. "Building Impossible with Daniel Ashville Microsite". www.natgeotv.com. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  15. "Clippers unveil renderings of proposed arena". ESPN.com. July 26, 2019.
  16. "New details of Clippers' proposed Inglewood arena complex revealed". Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  17. "NOTICE OF PREPARATION OF A DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT AND PUBLIC SCOPING MEETING". Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  18. "Clippers take first steps to Inglewood arena while keeping options open". Retrieved June 16, 2017.
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