The Los Angeles Clippers got to officially unveil their new home on Wednesday night when they played host to the Phoenix Suns in the first regular season game for the Intuit Dome in Inglewood. After sharing an arena with the Lakers for decades, the Clippers finally have an arena to call their own, where they don’t have to try and cover up Lakers banners and feel like a guest in their own arena anymore.
There are a number of things unique to the Intuit Dome that Steve Ballmer and the Clippers created to help it stand out, but the one that has garnered the most talk (and skepticism) is “The Wall” — a section behind the opposing basket that features 51 rows of uninterrupted seats at a steeper angle than the rest of the arena. They sell tickets for The Wall only to Clippers fans via a vetting process and seats are first come, first serve to encourage fans to get in early to get closer to the floor.
It’s the Clippers attempt at creating more of a college atmosphere, and while there were plenty of skeptics about how it’d work out — especially given the reputation of the Clippers as L.A.’s second team — in the opener it seemed pretty cool. The Suns missed a few free throws in the fourth quarter facing The Wall, with both Devin Booker and Kevin Durant missing. After the game, Phoenix’s two stars both talked about how they thought it was a cool and unique element the Clippers had, with Booker admitting “that sh*t might work” while KD said he couldn’t stop staring at it.
Suns’ Devin Booker on the Clippers’ “Wall” fan section: “I missed a free throw, man. I was pissed. [Kevin Durant] missed two down there, too, so that s— might work. You spend $2 billion and put a wall up.” pic.twitter.com/bOjBF0f7EO
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) October 24, 2024
Kevin Durant on playing at Intuit Dome:
“Incredible. I loved it. I absolutely love the wall that they got. It’s insane… Steve is doing a great job with this franchise.”
KD said he was starting at The Wall the whole game. pic.twitter.com/V5mcfdEkB4
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) October 24, 2024
As Ballmer and the Clippers know, the only way to really get the most out of The Wall and the potential for a frenzied environment in their new building is to put a good team on the floor. They almost delivered a big win on Wednesday in overtime, but couldn’t quite close out Phoenix to start the season 0-1 — somewhat ironically due to a missed free throw of their own by James Harden. Still, part of the goal of the arena is to make players around the league take notice of them doing something different in L.A., and that seems to be working.