Intuit Dome ‘Yellow Wall’ concept charm fans

Article posted by Coliseum, October 28^th, 2024

Image: @LAClippers on X

Change is never easy. But for fans attending their first event at the Intuit Dome (Inglewood, California, US) there is no choice but to embrace it.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) team Los Angeles Clippers held their first regular-season game at their spectacular home – the Intuit Dome – on October 24^th falling to their peer team the Phoenix Suns 116-113 in overtime.

‘FRONT OFFICE SPORTS’ stated that everything about the fan experience at the National Basketball Association (NBA) team Los Angeles Clippers’ new $2 billion arena is new – from the facial recognition used to buy concessions, to The Wall, a 4,500-seat area exclusive to the Clippers fans.

First, the 62,850-capacity Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London (UK) took a page out of the book of the Bundesliga team Borussia Dortmund’s home ground – the Signal Iduna Park in Germany – world-famous ‘Yellow Wall’. And now, the Intuit Dome too has replicated the ‘Yellow Wall’ concept. From London to Los Angeles, the concept has caught on in a big way.

Borussia Dortmund’s ‘Yellow Wall’ at their home arena – the 81,365-capacity Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, Germany – has been regarded as one of the best and most fearsome stands in European football since it was expanded in the late 1990s. It has a capacity to hold 25,000 fans and is the largest single-tiered grandstand in the whole of Europe. It isn’t the sheer size of the stand that has made it famous, however, but rather the fans that stand within it each and every week. It is where Dortmund’s most passionate fans reside and the atmosphere they create on a weekly basis is a joy to behold.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium’s most striking feature is the 17,500 continuous South Stand – similar to Borussia Dortmund’s famous ‘Yellow Wall’ – which has been designed to create a deafening atmosphere.

Inspired by the Borussia Dortmund’s famous ‘Yellow Wall’, ‘The Wall’ at the Intuit Dome stands out as the most unique feature of Clippers’ new arena – the 4,500-seat area is an uninterrupted 51-row section of seats directly behind one of the baskets that’s reserved for only the most diehard fans.

The 17,927-capacity Intuit Dome is an indoor arena in Inglewood, California (US). The stadium is located South of the other sports venues, the 70,000-capacity SoFi Stadium and the 17,505-capacity Kia Forum. It is the home venue of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area (US). The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The Intuit Dome serves as their home arena.

Tech-sharp

‘FRONT OFFICE SPORTS’ further stated that it’s nearly impossible to function around the arena without downloading the ‘LA Clippers + Intuit Dome’ mobile app. This is where the fans can scan their face to enter the concession areas and the team stores and also input their payment information to be automatically charged upon exiting those areas.

Observed Akhil Chopra, who was visiting Los Angeles from Chicago, “It’s a little bit of a hassle. It’s not like we’re super [techy] here.”

Ryan Q., the NBA team Phoenix Suns fan living just outside Los Angeles, said he thinks the features are “cool” but said he believes his parents would struggle – “I’d have to teach them how to do everything.”

However, both Chopra and Ryan Q. believe the features should get better as time goes along and the fans adjust to the nuances. Chopra said the arena’s other tech innovations were “awesome.”

Added Chopra, “I think it’s really fan-friendly. The activities and all that stuff, they don’t do this in Chicago. … [The Intuit Dome] is a beautiful stadium.”

The Wall

The fan zones within the arenas are not new, even in the NBA. But the Clippers are the first to have one take up around a quarter of the arena – and the only one where there are about 300 spots directly behind the basket in a standing-room-only area called the Supporters Section.

Reid Mitchell is one of the fans who bought a season pass to the Supporters Section – which costs $999 for all 41 games, a $24.37 rate per ticket. He cited the affordability of the tickets as one of the reasons he got it – “I’m a very passionate fan, so I think it’s perfect for me, being able to stand – and it’s affordable to go to every game. To just be able to cheer the Clippers as they embark on this new era … I couldn’t miss being at the first season of the Dome.”

Rex Osagie, who was seated directly beside the Supporters Section, made the trip from Illinois because he wanted to witness the first Intuit Dome game in person – “I think it’s awesome. Honestly, I think something like this sets the bar so much higher and we’ve seen a lot of the new arenas like the 18,064-capacity Chase Center in Golden State (California).”

Restrooms Galore

The Clippers Owner Steve Ballmer, who was dancing around in the Supporters Section during the opener, consistently bragged about the Intuit Dome having more than 1,100 toilets and urinals. He wanted fans to get back to their seats immediately.

Liam, a fan of the NBA team Sacramento Kings, raved about how easy the restroom experience was – “There were so many empty ones.”

New York (US)-based the National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams. It is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional basketball league in the world.

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