The Los Angeles Clippers and NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced Tuesday that they will host the 2026 NBA All-Star game in their new home: The Intuit Dome in Inglewood.
“I eagerly await the first opportunity to see a Clippers game here in this fantastic Intuit Dome,”
Silver said. “And then, of course, all NBA fans are eager to see a All-Star game here.”
Silver, along with Inglewood mayor James Butts, Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass, Clippers chairman Steve Ballmer and Clippers president of business operations Gillian Zucker gathered on the main court of the Intuit Dome to make the announcement.
The Intuit Dome is set to open in August, in time for the Clippers to host games there for the 2024-2025 season.
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Inglewood recently hosted Super Bowl LVI and Wrestlemania; the city will also host the World Cup in 2026, Super Bowl LXI, and the 2028 Summer Olympics. Mayor Butts noted how Inglewood is prepared for all the events that come its way.
“The All-Star weekend will be the greatest event ever held in the greatest arena in the world: The Intuit Dome,” Butts said. “Together, mayor Bass, L.A. and Inglewood will continue to bring international sports and entertainment to the county of Los Angeles and to the world for decades to come.”
Ballmer mentioned how he was “giddy” to hear that the almost-finished Intuit Dome could place a bid to host All-Star Weekend. He desires for the 2026 All-Star Game to be the best basketball experience “on the planet.”
“If you want to have the pinnacle of basketball, you have to have the very best players in the world playing here,” Ballmer said. “We’re just beyond delighted.”
Los Angeles hosted the NBA All-Star Weekend in 2011 and 2018. Mayor Bass noted how the 2018 All-Star Weekend brought in “$100 million of economic impact” to the area.
“Looking ahead, NBA All-Star Weekend 2026 is projected to generate more than $350 million in economic and media impact for the greater Los Angeles area,” Bass said. “I know there is so much more to come for our area.”
Along with having five basketball courts, the Intuit Dome will flaunt an array of innovations including a decibel meter to measure cheers, grab-and-go concession stands, and the steep, 51-row “Wall of Sound” section for dedicated Clippers fans.
In other sections, the seating will have more leg room, according to Ballmer.
“The seats are generous in their leg room and in their width,” Ballmer said. “We took what we saw in other NBA arenas, and we tried to go a step further.”
Bass noted how Butts is a “transformative mayor” for all the events that has took place in Inglewood since he took the helm of the city. Butts mentioned how Inglewood was on the brink of bankruptcy when he was elected mayor in 2011.
Since the Clippers have partnered with Inglewood, unemployment has dropped to “less than five percent” from the 17-percent rate that it was when he first got elected.
“We also have a government that is unified and operates in the best interests of the community as opposed to political self-interest,” Butts said. “That’s why investors flock to Inglewood.”
