Intuit Dome: The Arena That’s Redefining the Game

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again—we love an arena or stadium project. A quick browse through our older posts will confirm this if you’re new to the blog.

LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer knew what he wanted for the team’s new home—a shiny and efficient arena that would keep fans entertained and happy. And, oh boy, does the Intuit Dome deliver.

Opened in August 2024 for the 2024-25 NBA season, the $1.8 billion arena complex in Inglewood was created specifically for the basketball team and its fans, and it shows. All 17,700 seats were designed to provide an intimate live experience, which is accomplished in ways like literally moving fans closer to the action. A seat in row 20 is 45 feet closer—almost a half-court—than at the team’s previous arena. It also doesn’t hurt that each seat is equipped with its own charging port.

If you do need to get up during the game, rest assured that bathroom lines won’t keep you away long because there are more than 1,100 toilets in the facility—three times more than the NBA area average.

More fun facts are coming, but first, why don’t we explain how CS is involved. Louvers!

In 2019, IMC reached out and we went on to work with AECOM, which led the core design team, to get our louvers specified as the Basis of Design. Our Key Accounts team then worked with AECOM through one of our partners, Crown Corr, to further refine the louver design, performance, and connection details.

One of the project goals was to achieve 100% outdoor air within the arena bowl, so louver selection was a big deal. The right louvers help reduce energy consumption, enhance thermal comfort, and simply allow people to enjoy fresh air. (Spoiler alert: goal reached.)

We ran into some minor airflow issues in the beginning—by the time the project’s mechanical engineer could share specific louver requirements for each location, several of the louvers needed to be resized from our original calculations. No sweat, though. We used our proprietary Airflow Tool (a simple but indispensable service that CS offers for free) to calculate the expected free area and pressure drop for each louver based on the models, sizes, and the mechanical engineer’s requirements for each opening.

Now, CS louvers can be found at various locations around the building’s facade and at the main roof enclosure—on the south garage, west plaza, arena stands, and glass curtainwall. Many are behind the facade. Due in large part to how the arena uses outside air and wind, Intuit Dome has been carbon-free from day one.

Standing in front of the stadium, you would be unlikely to catch a casual glimpse of the louvers. The creative design called for louvers to be integrated into the facade to minimize visual distractions from the aesthetic intent. AECOM did such a clever job of hiding them that they are difficult to see without getting up close. Airflow? Check. Function that integrates with creative design? Check. Our work is done here.

Now a few more fun facts because there are so many. There isn’t necessarily a best seat in the house, but Clippers fans might tell you there is a best section: The Wall. Located near the visitor’s bench for maximum intimidation of the other team is a section of 51 uninterrupted rows for the most die-hard fans.

No matter where you sit, though, you’ll have a phenomenal view of The Halo Board, a gigantic double-sided digital screen that’s the largest ever in an arena setting. Plus, it does more than display visuals, it throws things at you! We kid, sort of, because it does include a state-of-the-art t-shirt cannon. In other arenas, these cannons launch shirts barely farther than the expensive floor seats. Not at Intuit Dome. Every single seat can be reached by this cannon. Details like this might seem relatively small but making sure all fans have an equal chance means a better experience for everyone.

And “everyone” doesn’t just mean Clippers fans. For example, the first Monday Night RAW of the WWE Netflix era took place there, and it will host games during the 2028 Olympics.

By all accounts, Intuit Dome is a slam dunk. (Sorry, we had to.)