Steve Ballmer said the team has learned from collegiate student sections about maximizing in-arena crowd noiseTony Florez
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer told the crowd at the 2023 CAA World Congress of Sports that he has little interest in encouraging the team’s fans to look at their phones during games. Rather, the under-construction Intuit Dome, the $2B Inglewood arena slated to open next year, has been designed with steep walls of seating specifically intended to keep fans focused on the action on the court. “We did take a design point that says, ‘Hey, look, if you come to our building, most of what you're going to do is focus in on the basketball,’” said Ballmer. “We thought about the other points of view. And frankly, I think there's enough people who want that experience. ... If you want to go to a bar, you can go to a bar. If you come to our place and you pay extra -- and we’ve got a very hefty cover charge, if you think of it as a bar -- you want to watch the basketball.”
Ballmer explained how the team has taken lessons from collegiate student sections about maximizing in-arena crowd noise, and he detailed how the Intuit Dome’s 1,165 bathroom fixtures and grab-and-go concessions will minimize how much time fans spend out of their seats. He also rejected the notion that younger fans require an in-arena experience tied to their phones. “People like to say, ‘Well, you know, the younger generations consume content in different ways,’” said Ballmer. “But let’s take it this way: Did young people stop going to concerts? No. No, they'll sit two and three hours for a concert. People want live events. Let's give them a live event, that has been my theory.”
Ballmer confirmed the Clippers will not change their name as part of the move to Inglewood, and as for his future in team ownership, he said one team is enough: “With the kind of energy and time I want to put into the team, I couldn’t own two teams. I mean, my life would be inconsistent with the thought I have that I’m kind of retired.”
