The Intuit Dome

The LA Clippers will soon be saying goodbye to the Staples Center, the arena they share with rival LA Lakers and the NHL’s LA Kings. Team owner Steve Balmer, tech entrepreneur, former Microsoft CEO and the NBA’s richest team owner, recently broke ground for a $1.8 billion, 18,000 seat arena in Inglewood, CA slated to open sometime in 2024.

With financial software maker Intuit as partner, the team and the firm just did a 23-year naming rights agreement for the Intuit Dome.  According to Balmer, one of the world’s wealthiest men, they got “quite a few pitches and quite a few offers” which reportedly was worth $500 to $600 million.  Intuit matched Balmer’s passion for technology and innovation.  The agreement had the tech firm commit $1 million to underprivileged schools in the LA area to help students learn about entrepreneurship and finances.

Intuit’s deal with the Clippers is the latest sports venue naming rights which follows that of Social Finance, Inc. (SoFi), an online personal finance company.   Fin-tech industries of late had been aggressive in sponsorship and naming rights deals.

Just across the way of LAC’s new arena is the newly opened $6 billion SoFi Stadium, the 70,000 seat home of NFL’s LA Rams and LA Raiders.  It is a massive complex that can be expanded to seat 100,240 people for events like the Super Bowl and the Olympics.

Nearby Carson City was initially chosen as the site of the Clippers’ new home but the area does not have 5-star hotels around which are needed for visiting teams and other related future events which the arena will be having.

Of late, the Clippers also closed a long-term partnership with Aspiration, a financial services company focusing on green and sustainable initiatives.  The deal was worth almost $400 million for the next 23 years.

The new partner will help the team provide education and career development for the underserved youth in the SoCal area thru its Mentroship Assist Zone.  Aspiration will also get advertising rights in the arena and be the presenting sponsor of a series of benefits for season ticket holders, the Clipper Nation MVP Program.

The excitable Balmer said that the arena will be a basketball mecca that includes a practice facility, team offices for business and basketball operations as well as retail spaces.   Its design results from the integration of ideas taken from other NBA facilities, NFL and German football stadiums. “I had a lot of my opinions and most of the things had some inspiration that came from someplace else”, he said.

Sustainable materials and designs were used in the planning of the Intuit Dome including the type of concrete to be used, limited water usage, waste reduction programs and a green roof.  It will be naturally ventilated and carbon-free, making it the most sustinable arena in the world.