Compton’s DeMar DeRozan and Kings react to Los Angeles Clippers’ $2 billion Intuit Dome
DeMar DeRozan marveled at the sight of the Intuit Dome in Inglewood when the Sacramento Kings played the Los Angeles Clippers in Thursday’s preseason finale.
DeRozan grew up in Compton and went on to star at USC, so he knows the Southern California landscape well. Things have changed since he was a kid with the Clippers building their new $2 billion arena a mile away from SoFi Stadium, the $5.5 billion home of the Los Angeles Chargers.
“It’s amazing, just me being from here, knowing what was around here,” DeRozan said. “You’ve got SoFi right next door and now you’ve got the Intuit Dome. I never would have imagined that Inglewood would be looking like this, so it’s amazing. It’s great for the city. It’s great for sports to be able to come in and see kind of the future of arenas.”
The 18,000-seat arena has a number of unique features, including a spectacular Halo Board, a double-sided, oval-shaped, 4K video board billed as the largest double-sided video halo ever built. The Intuit Dome has already been selected to host the 2026 NBA All-Star Game and will be a venue for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Kings assistant coach Jay Triano provided his first impressions of the arena prior to Thursday’s 113-91 loss to the Clippers, sitting in for head coach Mike Brown during the pregame news conference because the team’s third bus was stuck in traffic.
“Every time in the NBA over the years when there’s a new building, there’s a little bit of excitement coming in,” Triano said. “I’m glad we’re here for the preseason to get a good feel for it. It looks like a beautiful building, and it looks like a great place to play, and I’m excited to see what it’s like.”
Brown offered his thoughts following the game.
“It looks fantastic,” Brown said. “Obviously, I still get lost. It’s so big and spacious, but it seems like it is as advertised.”
DeRozan, Kings guard Jordan McLaughlin and longtime members of the team’s traveling party agreed the spacious visitor’s locker room, with an adjoining weight room, is the best in the NBA.
“This is pretty sweet,” McLaughlin said.
Asked if there is a nicer visitor’s locker room in the league, McLaughlin, a five-year NBA veteran, added: “Not quite like this. I think they thought of everything in here for the visitors.”
