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 LA Clippers overtime loss against the Phoenix. Suns.
The Wall is a steep, 51-row multiple section of seats behind the basket adjacent to the visitor’s bench that is unlike anything in any other professional ring arena.
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“I was just looking at it the whole time,” Suns star Kevin Durant said. “The seats go straight up. The noise is different from that point of view. It’s going to be a tough road environment for anyone who comes in here.”
The Wall did its part in pushing for victory. Durant missed two fourth-quarter free throws in front of the frenzied fans, though the Suns won in OT, 116-113, to spoil the inaugural contest.
The section was the brainchild of Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, who had a lot of input into the design of the building. The fact is that there are conditions for sitting in that area. It’s for Clipper fans only. No one can wear an opposing team’s jersey. The cost is $1,299 for the 41 home games, or a relatively cheap $32 per 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 chose to oust then-owner Donald Sterling. According to sportythe most recent NBA estimates, the franchise is worth $4.56 billion, and that was before he opened the new arena.
Mat Ishbia, the owner of the Suns, sat in court, making his own judgment on how to replace the 32-year-old Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix.
Ballmer said earlier this year that fans occupying the 4,500-seat Wall should 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 can take some getting used to. Although 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 begins with three sections at floor level and expands to five sections higher up.
It’s not for the faint of heart as it’s a 30 row walk to the rooftops.
Ballmer has placed sensors in seats throughout the building and says he will give out prizes for those who cheer the loudest.
“The Wall is crazy. That’s our sixth man,” Clipper coach Ty Lue said. “Those guys are loud. They are in the game. They made a CD [Durant] miss two free throws and he was on a roll. We need that every night.”
The game marked a passage in the team’s Buffalo/San Diego/Los Angeles history. It was the first time in all these decades that the franchise played in its own building. The first three buildings the Clippers occupied – the Auditorium in Buffalo, the San Diego Sports Arena and the LA Sports Arena – were all publicly owned.
For the last 25 seasons, they have shared what is now 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 with those steep sight lines.
“It was amazing 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 all over 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 ended up building an arena with 1,400 toilets. “I really hate it when people have to wait in line,” he recently said 60 Minutes. “It’s getting frustrating. I want them to come back to watch the game.”
The Wall was the added wrinkle.
“I loved the building,” Durant said. “I love The Wall they got. It’s crazy. I know in the playoffs, it’s going to be wild. I always love when new sites go up in our league; it sets the standard for what will come down. Steve has done a great job with this franchise.”
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