Steve Ballmer Is Putting His Nuts On The Table And Announces Plans For A New Arena
(NBA.com) – The L.A. Clippers today unveiled renderings and additional details of the team’s privately-financed sports and entertainment center anchored by their new basketball arena in Inglewood.
In addition to the arena, the proposed project located on West Century Boulevard between South Prairie Avenue and South Yukon Avenue will include the team’s business and basketball offices, training facility, community and retail spaces.
“My goal is simple. I want the Clippers to have the best home in all of sports,” said Clippers Chairman Steve Ballmer. “What that means to me is an unparalleled environment for players, for fans, for sponsors and for the community of Inglewood. Our goal is to build a facility that re-sets fans’ expectations while having a transformative impact on the city we will call home.”
The Inglewood Basketball & Entertainment Center will revitalize mostly vacant land under the flight path of Los Angeles International Airport into a vibrant campus. The project is targeted for completion by fall of 2024, following the expiration of the Clippers’ lease at STAPLES Center.
The proposed arena will have a three-dimensional oval design with a unique exterior of diamond-shaped metal panels inspired by the concept of a basketball swishing through a net. In addition to attractive aesthetics, the panels have been designed to provide solar benefit for maximum energy efficiency, as part of the facility’s LEED GOLD-certified design.
The facility’s most striking feature, intended to highlight the temperate climate of Southern California, is the integration of indoor/outdoor “sky gardens.” These landscaped areas for food and beverage will be accessible from every concourse level. The complex also envisions a multi-purpose plaza complete with concert stage, community basketball courts and space for the community to gather and watch everything from Clippers Playoff games to movie premieres on a supersized LED screen.
The Clippers campus will achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions through a combination of carbon offset credits and sustainable design features.
Now this is what I’m talking about. Who knows what the Clippers will look like in 2024 but the one thing we can be certain about is they’ll be playing in a sweet ass arena. Now that they’re no longer a running joke in the city of Los Angeles it makes sense that they put their big boy pants on and get their own home. If things go how I think Steve Ballmer is hoping in the next few years, the Clippers will be THE team in LA and will have no problem selling that bad boy out. We know Ballmer is one of the best, if not the best owner in the league not just for his enthusiasm or the fact that he’s willing to spend whatever in order to make his team a contender, but he’s also privately funding this whole thing. No taxpayer dollars, none of that shit Robert Sarver pulled in PHX, Ballmer is putting his nuts on the table and cutting the check himself. You have to respect that.
I’ll be honest, I love renderings of sports arenas and there is no doubt that this thing is going to be awesome. As we’ve learned the Clippers are already a destination because of what they’re doing on the court and the stability of the front office and ownership, you add a state of the art arena into the mix and now you’re really cooking. This thing is going to dunk on the Staples Center so hard because you know Ballmer is going to go over the top just to make sure. Not only that but he’s basically saving the economy while he does it
The project is expected to create an estimated 10,000 construction jobs and more than 1,500 permanent jobs, with local hire components in place to fill 30% of available construction jobs with local labor and 35% of the available arena operation jobs with local residents. When completed, the complex will generate an estimated $268 million in economic activity for Inglewood annually, and more than $190 million in new tax revenue from 2020-2045. That revenue will help support vital city services such as schools, parks, libraries and police and fire stations.
Steve Ballmer and the Clippers, so hot right now. Steve Ballmer and the Clippers.