A long-standing project, the construction of the new Clippers hall continues. Passing through the site, the owner Steve Ballmer gave news on the progress of the work.
Another two years and then freedom, that’s what Steve Ballmer can say to himself every night when he goes to sleep. For a long time now, the owner of the Clippers has dreamed of offering his team a brand new hall. The goal: to continue writing the history of the franchise and finally get out of the shadow of the neighboring Lakers. Since 1999, that is 23 years, the two enemy brothers from Los Angeles have shared the hall of the Staples Center, which has since become the Crypto.com Arena. Obviously, under these conditions, it is not easy to ever know who receives and who visits during the derbies since the room is always a mixture of the two fanbases. Despite everything, the mythical enclosure bears in the minds of many fans the imprint of the Lakers. It must be said that the Purple and Gold franchise has won five championship titles since 1999 while the Clippers are still waiting for their first participation in the NBA Finals. Wanting to give “LA’s second franchise” an identity of its own and a home all to itself, Steve Ballmer therefore took out the big money (2 billion!) to build the Intuit Dome in the town of Inglewood. The room, with a capacity of 18,000 seats and announced at the cutting edge of technology, should be delivered for the 2024-25 season. In any case, this is what was announced last September.
Almost ten months later, it’s time to release a little update with the hard hat on your head, just to avoid getting hit by a brick. This Thursday afternoon, Steve Ballmer was present at the construction site with James T. Butts, Mayor of Inglewood, to give an update on the progress of the work. The main information is that the concrete structure of the Intuit Dome is completed. To celebrate this major step forward, the leader, always accompanied by the mayor but also by Californian senator Steve Bradford, left their handprints in the concrete. A classic from the Los Angeles side. There is therefore optimism for the completion of the work and no delay seems to be deplorable for the moment. Inglewood will be the new home of the blues and reds from 2024 and this will allow a real new start for the franchise, even if we do not forget that the town was the home of the… Lakers for many, many years, from the time of the Forum. Decidedly, the shadow of the neighbor is never very far.
The intuit Dome continues to emerge from the ground and the enclosure should be ready at the dawn of the 2024-25 season. A new room for new ambitions on the Clippers side. To Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and company to play now.
Source texte : NBA
