Steve Ballmer's Latest Details About The Clippers New $1.2 Billion Arena Sound INCREDIBLE, Which Will Include A Scoreboard That Is An Acre In Size
Stephen Dunn. Getty Images.I love pretty much everything about Steve Ballmer as a sports owner. I love how he doesn't give a single fuck about spending money since he's richer than God and will do whatever he has to in order to make his franchise competitive. I love how hard he cheers during games to the point where you think he might self-combust in the stands. I love that he hates the Lakers just like I do.
His whole thing has been finding a way to have the Clippers establish their own identity in LA, and to not mainly be thought of as the Lakers little brother. While I have my doubts if that will ever truly happen, a big part of that equation is of course having your own arena. I've blogged about the Intuit Dome before and it looks pretty sick
Well now that we're getting closer and closer to this thing being opened, Steve Ballmer hopped on Paul George's podcast and gave us some additional details about what an awesome arena this is shaping up to be
Alright let's go down the list
1. Giant scoreboard
An acre of scoreboard? Take that Jerry Jones you poor. The one in Dallas is only a combined 25,000 square feet and honestly, I didn't know Jerry Jones was so broke. The Patriots also just redid their scoreboard and it's only 22,000 square feet. Are all NFL owners down this bad? Comparing it to the NBA where the average scoreboard is only 9,000 square feet, this thing is going to be insane to see in person.
Is there a reason this thing needs to be so gigantic? Probably not. But that's the point. Who cares if it's pointless, it's an opportunity to flex, and if you're going to spend all this money on making a new arena you may as well go nuts
2. New seats
To hell with the scoreboard, this might actually be the best part. Maybe it's because I'm used to the seats at the Garden, but this is such a great idea. Wider seats and deeper seats for more legroom is a fantastic decision.
Power to every seat? Steve Ballmer you dog! Another great move. I'm pretty sure I've never seen this in an NBA arena before but Ballmer knows where his bread is buttered. Technology. Fans are on their phones all the time during a game. Now you'll be able to get a charge from your seat? A+ move.
It gets a little invasive in terms of them knowing how often you stand and how loud you cheer which I'm sure is just going to be some sort of data mining experiment but whatever. You give me easy and free access to a phone charger you can literally do whatever you want.
3. The Wall
Love this idea too. Granted this is going to require Clippers fans actually show up, but I love the concept of bringing a college vibe/soccer vibe to an NBA game. 51 rows from the floor to the ceiling of standing room only fans where it's basically a requirement that you go nuts at all times. He even said later in that interview that they'll be able to see who doesn't participate and you'll be straight up banned from standing there again.
A hilarious yet predictable move from this guy
I love how he's holding his fans to the same standard that he himself lives by. If you come to a Clippers game, you better be losing your shit at all times if you want to be in The Wall. I don't exactly love the name, but that's just nitpicking. The idea is something I can get behind and honestly, more teams should have this element. I remember back in 2010 when I worked for the Colorado Rapids in the MLS it was the first year they really focused on their Supporter Section and it made a world of difference. I think it'd be cool to have that in the NBA.
All in all, count me in on this new arena. The actual team, well that's still TBD. We still have no idea what the franchise is going to do about both the Kawhi and Paul George pending extensions, and now that the NBA changed the rules and you can't sit two stars at the same time, it's going to be interesting to see how the Clippers do. When healthy they've definitely been playing at a level worthy of contention, but nobody knows how often that's actually going to happen.
A pretty big risk given how much they're sinking into this new arena, but with LeBron aging and the Lakers' future also uncertain, the Clippers do have a chance to carve a name out for themselves once they step out of the Lakers' shadow. Above all else though, you have to win. Having a fully charged phone is cool and all, but not if it comes at the expense of watching a Play In team or a team that never really makes a deep playoff run. Start there and the rest will fall into place.