For most of their existence, the Los Angeles Clippers have existed more like a shadow organization, being forced to “share” their city with the legendary and illustrious Lakers.
But now, as the Clippers begin the forge a new identity, they’re ready to send a message that they are no longer living in the Lakers’ shadow.
Step one of their plan? A brand new arena, which is set to open in 2024.
BREAKING: The Clippers have signed a 23-year naming rights deal with software company Intuit.
Intuit will pay over $500M — $22M annually — and is the richest naming rights deal for an NBA franchise in history.
The 18,000-seat arena is set to open in 2024.
(h/t @sbjsbd) pic.twitter.com/RpkJ8ENp72
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) September 17, 2021
The Clippers’ future home looks absolutely stunning, and it’s a clear sign that they have every intention of stealing some attention away from their inter-city rivals.
In a chat with Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Mr. Ballmer spoke about the future of his team, speaking about what it’s like trying to grow their brand in a city that houses one of the sport’s greatest franchises.
(via ESPN)
“I’ve never been in a place where you had two teams in a town,” Ballmer said. “I grew up in Detroit. Everybody’s a Pistons fan. And I think for enough years the Clippers were bad enough, everybody could just ignore the Clippers.
We’re good now, and we’re going to be good year in and year out. We’re going to build our own building, more of our own identity, more of our own personality. And I think some of the fans on the other side, if you will, it’s like, ‘What? You dare to question our supremacy?’ No, we do.”
He also took a shot at the Lakers and their fans, suggesting that, amid their culture revival, the ‘other side’ might start feeling a little threatened.
“There’s 30 teams in the league. There’s 29 others. And we got one that happens to be based in L.A. And we got our fans. We use our expression, ‘LA Our Way.’ And we’re building our own presence, identity. And if the other guys feel a little threatened — the other guys’ fans, I mean; the players are actually a little different deal — but if they feel a little threatened, that’s OK. It means we’re doing good.”
Steve Ballmer hopes #Lakers fans feel 'threatened' by the Clippers' new arena. 🤔https://t.co/NT0T5HELDN pic.twitter.com/YqdwBIkQaM
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) September 17, 2021
With Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers will be good for a long time.
And while they remain a laughing stock in the eyes of many within the community, Steve Ballmer is doing everything he can to change that.
All the while, he hopes that his team will start winning games along the way.
