California governor Gavin Newsom green-lit California’s newest late-night bar Sunday: the VIP suites at the Clippers’ Intuit Dome.
It’s illegal to serve alcohol past 2 a.m. in California, but the new bill will keep taps flowing in the brand-new arena’s suites until 4 a.m. The new rule, which applies to only the VIP areas and not the rest of the Intuit Dome, is set for a trial run through Jan. 1, 2030, which Newsom called a “very limited pilot.”
The late-night alcohol sales are one of many unique features at former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s shiny new palace for the Clippers. The arena, located in Inglewood, Calif., has a staggering number of restrooms and outlets at every seat, will feature an imposing fan section called “The Wall,” and uses facial recognition technology to get fans in the door.
The bill has faced harsh criticism from some legislators for benefiting Ballmer and wealthy fans who can afford a box. The bill is designed for only dues-paying members and their guests. Suites are reselling online for at least a couple of thousand dollars, and include perks like premium food and beverage, parking passes (some in the players’ garage), and a personal attendant.
Advocacy groups including the California Alcohol Policy Alliance and Alcohol Justice have spoken out against potential harmful consequences. “Years of peer-reviewed research has proven that maintaining existing last call times is a key policy for reducing the harms from reckless drinking and from alcohol-related motor crashes. Extending to 4 a.m. is a fatal step in the wrong direction,” said the executive director of Alcohol Justice, Cruz Avila, in a statement about the bill in August.
Newsom, in his Sunday letter regarding the bill to the members of the California State Assembly, acknowledged the safety risks of prolonging alcohol sales. “I am directing the California Highway Patrol to work in partnership with local law enforcement agencies to track DUI incidents in the surrounding communities, and to prepare a report on the impacts of extended alcohol service hours that can inform the Legislature’s evaluation of any further proposals to extend alcohol service hours,” Newsom wrote.
Newsom has supported previous Intuit Dome–related bills, including one that helps alcohol companies to advertise within the arena, and one that permits facial recognition technology to verify a customer is of legal drinking age, which he just approved Sept. 25.
Ballmer’s wife, Connie Snyder, has supported Newsom in the past. She gave $1 million in 2021 to help keep Newsom in office. Ballmer’s company, Murphy’s Bowl LLC, has lobbied in support of Intuit Dome–related legislation, and spent more than $700,000 in the 2023–2024 legislative session to do so, the L.A. Times reported.
Carson Benowitz-Fredericks, Alcohol Justice’s research director, tells Front Office Sports the new rule is an “enormous error in judgment on behalf of a billionaire’s vanity project” that puts early-shift commuters at risk. He says legislators did not incorporate any suggestions from the group.
Spokespeople for the Clippers did not immediately return requests for comment. A representative for the governor’s office referred back to the governor’s statement to state assembly members.
