Clippers' New $1.8B Inglewood Arena, The Intuit Dome, Breaks Ground Friday
INGLEWOOD (CBSLA) – After years of planning and negotiation, the Los Angeles Clippers finally broke ground on their future home Friday morning in Inglewood.
The team also announced that it has secured a name for the new state-of-the-art $1.8 billion arena, the Intuit Dome, which is slated to open ahead of the 2024-25 season.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer was on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony, along with stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, head coach Tyronn Lue and Inglewood Mayor James Butts.
"We want to build a home that is our home, that sets a standard for us," Ballmer said. "We don't want to play in anybody's shadow."
The team has signed a 23-year naming rights deal with the tech giant, which is the parent company of QuickBooks, TurboTax, Mint and Credit Karma.
Construction on the Intuit Arena is expected to cost over $1.8 billion, according to The Associated Press. The funding is entirely private, with no taxpayer dollars.
The 18,000-seat arena will feature a design called "The Wall," which will consist of "51 uninterrupted rows of seats that include a dedicated supporters section."
It will also have a two-sided halo scoreboard, an 80,000 square-foot outdoor plaza with a full-size outdoor basketball court.
The Intuit Dome received full approval from the Inglewood City Council last summer. It will be located just blocks away from SoFi Stadium and The Forum, the latter of which Ballmer purchased in May of 2020 for $400 million.
Ballmer made the purchase from the Madison Square Garden Co. in order to resolve legal challenges mounted by MSG against Ballmer's plan to build the new Clippers arena.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)