There have been lots of new stadiums and arenas popping up all over—and the Los Angeles-adjacent city of Inglewood is home to two of them.
I already toured SoFi Stadium in 2021, shortly after it opened. And now it was time to tour its neighbor, the $1.8-billion Intuit Dome.*
It opened in August 2024 as the new home to the Los Angeles Clippers, the NBA team that used to have the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena all to themselves (and later shared the Staples Center with the team that usually overshadows them, the LA Lakers).
It's already hosted plenty of top-tier concerts from acts like Bruno Mars, Olivia Rodrigo, Usher, Billy Joel, and the FireAid concert benefit, too. But this was my first time seeing it.
This was also the first time it ever occurred to me that "clipper" was a reference to a type of ship (which dates back to when the team relocated from Buffalo, New York to the coastal city of San Diego in 1978).
The arena they play in, however, looks more like a bean—though lead architectural designer AECOM intended it to evoke the shape of a stretched basketball net, its cross-hatching contributed by a diagrid ("diagonal grid") steel canopy.
That "gridshell" really takes center stage (or, er, center court) when you walk inside the Main Entrance...
...which manages to retain all that natural sunlight and fresh air...
...especially as you head up to the Terrace Level.
It's architecturally open and airy—but it's also designed to control the bottlenecking of crowds, with self-serve soda fountains, "frictionless" retail (literally no cashiers), and more public restrooms than any other NBA arena, by far. (Of course, that all depends on you successfully battling traffic and getting past the facial recognition bots at the ticket check.)
But as you walk along the Main Level concourse (third floor), you may want to pause and peruse at some of the displays—like over 1500+ basketball jerseys that represent high school teams across the state.
The High School Jersey Project wall is also where you'll find a wall of reclaimed wood from a local basketball court (located above The 310 Bar).
Among the 17,800 seats that fill this arena, one of the most unique sections is "The Wall." That's where 51 consecutive rows for Clippers fans only (there's an enforced dress code) are located behind the baseline and adjacent to the visiting team's bench. Talk about home-court advantage!
The tour took us courtside, where VIPs normally watch the game (or don't watch the game, and just schmooze).
Down there, you're actually under the ginormous, double-sided halo-shaped display board—at 38,375 square feet, the largest-ever of its kind in any arena. (There's a similar one at SoFi, but this one's bigger.)
But even that might not keep me awake if I was seated in one of the heated, massaging chairs down on that level.
Contrast that with the top level (the "Loft Level"), where you're basically eye-to-eye with the Halo Board—and close enough to it to catch one of the T-shirts shot out by the cannons affixed to it. (Because of how steep the levels are, you actually don't feel that far away from the action all the way up there.)
Those who envisioned the space didn't want to treat the fans in the nosebleed section as though they're in the "cheap seats," though.
In fact, there's a very nice dining option up there (310 Provisions) where guests can get casual food and drinks in a lovely setting.
Heading down to the Suite Level, there's a very cool ceiling design that looks like a basketball.
And those lucky enough to gain access to the "Halo Suites" and party suites get to order off the Dome's premium menus.
The Club Level features the very sleek Grey Goose Lounge, with craft (vodka) cocktails...
...and the Patrón Tequila Club, whose ceiling tiles evoke a bird's-eye view of a net through a basketball hoop (which might get a little trippy after a few tequila tastings in there).
The seats are closer to the floor level down there—and just like the ones up top, they all come with remotes that allow fans to control certain features on the Halo Board.
The tour ends in the practice facility where high schools are invited to play on a regulation court—which is just one way that Intuit Dome is open to the community. This facility seats up to 700, but there's also a court in the outside plaza for more impromptu pickup games.
(We were allowed to see the home and visiting team locker rooms, and the locker rooms for male and female coaches, but we weren't allowed to photograph them.)
Intuit Dome is one of the many venues that have been confirmed to participate in the 2028 Summer Olympics. It will host the basketball competitions, of course. Maybe I'll get the chance to check out a game or a concert there before then.
I'd like to see it at night, when it's all lit up.
One thing at a time.
*I actually use an Intuit product, which I pay for, to send out my email newsletter. That had no influence over my tour experience, which I also paid for.
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