Intuit Dome built with focus on keeping fans' attention on the court

The Clippers' Intuit Dome, set to open in fall 2024, will be “predicated on presence” and the “quaint idea that fans should, literally, keep their eyes on the ball,” according to Jon Wertheim of SI. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer said there are "casual fans, people who are happy to spend time in the bar and occasionally look out at the game," but "we want to put our emphasis elsewhere." He added the arena is "about being in your seat, being in the bowl, watching the team.” Wertheim noted about 5,100 of the Intuit Dome’s 17,500 seats will be a “court-level, steeply terraced section known as The Wall” and the hope is those fans -- “all but stacked on top of the court -- stand throughout the game.” The arena will be arrayed with 199 “countdown clocks” throughout the building, "nudging fans to find their seats before tip-off and the end of halftime." The building also will feature more than 1,000 toilets to “minimize time spent waiting in line and thus not cheering on the home team.” But the Intuit Dome also will be "remarkable for what it lacks,” including a “paucity of suites, which Ballmer believes drain a building of atmosphere.” The 48 traditional suites (compared to Crypto.com Arena’s 172) that do exist will be “consigned to one level, far from courtside.” There also will be “no restaurants at bowl level,” and even if California legalizes sports gambling there will be “no gaming consoles on the seat-backs or in the concourses.” Short of "demanding fans check in their phones," every design touch is "meant to direct focus onto the court” (SI,11/14).