Steve Ballmer on Clippers’ Intuit Dome: ‘Make it bigger’

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- The presentation seemed as captivating as watching a Hollywood blockbuster filled with special effects in an IMAX theatre.

About three months before the LA Clippers will play their first game at Intuit Dome, the franchise unveiled their “Halo Board” that provided both entertaining and practical functions through 38,375 square feet. 

The “Halo Board” showcased a live feed of the actual game directly over the actual court. It provided instant replays of various highlight reels from various angles.

It presented a “Coaches’ Corner” feature filled with various game and player statistics, shot charts and analytic data. And it highlighted a “Player 360” profile during timeouts, which shared a players’ season-long and game statistics along with detail about their career and charity projects.  

 “I like big screens so you can see a lot of information,” Clippers owner Steve Ballmer said at the team’s unveiling on Friday in Inglewood. “That is important to me. I don’t like those corner boards that you sometimes have to look at, particularly if you’re sitting courtside in expensive seats. I like boards that are crisp.”

Ballmer didn’t name specifics. He didn’t need to, though. Clearly, Ballmer didn’t seem enthralled with the video boards at Crypto.com Arena previously known as Staples Center.

When he purchased the Clippers in 2014 for $2 billion, the former Microsoft CEO initially seemed relieved he would not have to purchase an arena. Amid previous failed bids with the former Seattle Supersonics, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Sacramento Kings, Ballmer anticipated he would either have to empty his pockets or receive government approval to build an arena.

Six months later, Ballmer changed his opinion. That’s because the Clippers shared the same arena with the Lakers, the NHL’s Kings and the WNBA’s Sparks.

As co-tenants, the Clippers rarely received preferential treatment with scheduling. With the Lakers’ championship banners and retired jerseys serving as a visible reminder of both their historical dominance and city’s imprint, the Clippers soon covered up those mementos for their home games. 

“We got to build an arena. We got to build a place that is our house,” Ballmer said. “We got to put the energy into our house. 

"We don’t want to play too many Monday nights against ‘Monday Night Football.’ We don’t want to play too many Saturday games. We don’t want to have to cover up banners of other guys in order for it to feel marginally like our house. It has to be our house.”

With that, the Clippers privately financed a $2 billion arena to fit their own modern image. 

That includes the “Halo Board,” which the Clippers said is the largest-ever double-sided halo display that is the equivalent of 3,592 60-inch TVs. Gillian Zucker, the CEO of Halo Sports & Entertainment, added the “Halo Board” measures three times the length of Hollywood sign and weighs over 519,000 pounds. 

That gives the Clippers plenty of opportunities to make great use of their new amenity. 

The Clippers will have T-Shirt cannons shot out of the top of the “Halo Board” in hopes that it can also reach fans in the upper deck. They will feature a “Steve Cam” to showcase Ballmer’s eccentric dance moves, prompting him to joke, ‘my wife is going to hate this.’ 

Safe bet, though, that plenty of fans will like that the board will feature their reaction to plays as well as their live social media posts. 

“If you go to a live event,” Ballmer said, “this will be the building for you.” 

To help construct this 10-year project, Ballmer, Zucker and other Clippers officials researched other arena scoreboards. Ballmer said he always thought, “make it bigger” with a caveat.

Even if he became intrigued with the Dallas Cowboys’ large video board at AT&T Center, Ballmer said he “wanted clear sight lines from every seats.” He also believed that the board “had to be functional.” Zucker added that Ballmer thought the board “needed to educate in addition to entertain.” 

The reason? Even with a hyper-distracted society that often consumes their cell phones and social media, Ballmer has wanted to place increased importance on the actual game. 

The Clippers might face questions on whether they can contend an NBA championship after losing Paul George to the Philadelphia 76ers and dealing Russell Westbrook in a sign-and-trade to Utah. 

Ballmer expressed optimism because the Clippers still have Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, though neither player has stayed consistently healthy in recent years. Regardless, Ballmer at least has held out hope that the Clippers can tap into the new arena’s amenities that could produce a stronger home-court advantage. 

“It’s going to be live,” Mann said. “Everybody is going to be excited to see the new roster that we have. 

"Everybody is going to be excited to see Kawhi play. Everybody is going to be excited to see James come back. So I think it’s going to be a live atmosphere. And then people are going to feed off the energy from Steve, for sure. So it’s going to be dope.” 

Therefore, the Clippers plan to give fans incentives to cheer loudly. 

Zucker said the “Halo Board” can track and present both the arena’s noise levels and differentiate it by seat. Ballmer said the organization will offer the loudest fans discounts on both merchandise and concessions. 

To ensure that as many as the 19,000 fans stay seated, Intuit Dome features various amenities. The Clippers said the arena’s various restrooms have more than a combined 1,100 toilets and urinals. 

The arena has grab-and-go concession stands, which allows fans to pay either through their phone or through a cashier. Intuit Dome will have “countdown clocks” ticking around the arena during breaks and timeouts to remind fans to return to their seats. Every fan can charge their phones through portals on their seat. 

“Our guys are all in; they’re always all in,” Ballmer said. “The thing I ask myself is from a game perspective is can our fans do a little extra to help our team.”

That may not immediately lead to the Clippers seizing the spotlight from the Lakers. The Clippers failed to win an NBA title during the “Lob City Era” (2011-17) while the Lakers endured part of their playoff drought for six consecutive seasons (2014-19). 

The Lakers won an NBA title during the 2020 pandemic, while the Clippers failed to hoist any hardware when Leonard and George played together for the last five years. Yet, the Clippers’ investment in their new arena represents their ongoing efforts both to remain relevant and competitive. 

 “We have no championships,” Ballmer said. “We don’t. And we’re going to try harder.

"We’re going to work harder. We’re going to do everything that we can in every way, shape and form for our fans and for our team.”