INGLEWOOD, Calif.—Let’s talk about The Wall, the most unique feature of the state-of-the-art $2 billion Intuit Dome, which opened with its first NBA regular-season game Wednesday night—an L.A. Clippers overtime loss to the Phoenix Suns.
The Wall is a steep, 51-row multiple section of seats behind the basket adjacent to the visitor’s bench that’s unlike anything in any other professional hoops arena.
More from Sportico.com
“I was just staring at it the whole time,” Suns star Kevin Durant said. “The seats go straight up. The noise is different from that vantage point. It’s going to be a tough road environment for anyone who comes in here.”
The Wall did its part in pushing for a win. Durant missed two fourth-quarter free throws in the face of the frenzied fans, though the Suns wound up prevailing in OT, 116-113, to spoil the inaugural contest.
The section was the brainchild of Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, who had plenty of input into the design of the building. The fact is there are stipulations for sitting in that area. It’s for Clipper fans only. No one can wear an opposing team jersey. The cost is $1,299 for the 41 home games, or a relatively inexpensive $32 a game.
When you’re worth $124.8 billion, you can afford to make those calls. Ballmer bought the team in 2014 for $2 billion when the NBA elected to eject then-owner Donald Sterling. According to Sportico’s most recent NBA valuations, the franchise is worth $4.56 billion, and that was before he opened the new arena.
Mat Ishbia, the owner of the Suns, was seated at courtside, making his own judgment about how to replace 32-year-old Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix.
Ballmer said earlier this year that fans occupying the 4,500-seat Wall have to follow the team on social media and buy a jersey. “You’re not going to sit there if you’re not really on our team,” he said.
The concept may take some getting used to. Though the Clippers announced an attendance of 18,300, there were plenty of empty seats in the building and a good sprinkling of them throughout The Wall, which starts with three sections at floor level and expands to five sections further up.
It’s not for the faint of heart, as it’s about a 30-row hike to the rafters.
Ballmer has placed sensors in seats throughout the building and says he will give prizes for those who cheer the loudest.
“The Wall’s crazy. That’s our sixth man,” Clipper coach Ty Lue said. “Those guys are loud. They’re into the game. They made KD [Durant] miss two free throws and he was on a roll. We need that every single night.”
The game marked a passage in the Buffalo/San Diego/Los Angeles history of the team. It was the first time in all these decades the franchise played in a building of its own. The first three buildings the Clippers inhabited—the Auditorium in Buffalo, the San Diego Sports Arena and LA Sports Arena—were all publicly owned.
For the last 25 seasons, they shared what’s now called Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles with the NBA Lakers and NHL Kings. That building is owned privately by Anschutz Entertainment Group, which controls the hockey team. The Lakers are a tenant there.
Now the Clippers have their own built-for-basketball building with those steep sightlines.
“It was fantastic to play in this building,” new Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said. “The crowd was great. It just feels like everything is so well thought out. The locker rooms, the court, the fans are on top of you. The video boards. It’s a great arena.”
Ballmer wanted a building with the comforts of watching a game from his own living room with a nice seat, easy access to food and the bathroom. He gave the architects, AECOM, this challenge:
“Can you build me that for 18,000 people?”
He wound up building an arena with 1,400 toilets. “I really hate it when people have to wait on line,” he recently told 60 Minutes. “It gets frustrating. I want them to get back to watch the game.”
The Wall was the added wrinkle.
“I loved the building,” Durant said. “I love The Wall that they got. It’s insane. I know in the playoffs, it’ll be wild. I always love when new venues go up in our league; it sets the standard for what will come down the line. Steve has done a great job with this franchise.”
Best of Sportico.com
Sign up for Sportico’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
