That Brand New Arena Smell

“What the f*ck is different?”

– Slipknot, “Prosthetics”

Outside of their appearance at the 2001 edition of Ozzfest, I had never had a chance to see Slipknot. A slot on a festival stage playing before Marilyn Manson and Black Sabbath gave a good indication of what the band sounded like live but did not allow me to see the full spectacle they are known for. I, therefore, jumped at the chance to see them during my birthday weekend for a stop on their tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of their self-titled first album. The fact that they were playing at the recently opened Intuit Dome heightened my interest.

I first saw the Intuit Dome under construction while sitting in traffic on the way to see Billy Joel at SoFi Stadium last year. The immediate thought that crossed my mind was “This area cannot handle the existing influx of people, how is it going to handle 20,000 more?” Even when it was just the Forum, the neighboring streets did not have the proper capacity, especially since the area is many blocks from the closest freeway. Predictably, the 70,000+ capacity SoFi Stadium made it even worse. We had left plenty of time to get to the Billy Joel concert but still missed some of his opening act, Stevie Nicks. The same was true when we went to see Mötley Crüe and the first night of Metallica at the same venue.

I was relieved to read at Intuit Dome’s opening that they had anticipated the traffic problems and would provide free shuttles from five different lots including Pierce College in the San Fernando Valley. Unfortunately, when we tried to pre-book the shuttle, the third-party site we were directed to only provided information about public transportation that would take several hours. When I contacted customer service by email, the only answer I received was to visit the same website that I was asking about. My excitement about this new arena and its promise of a better fan experience was quickly fading.

Since the site specified that there was a standby line available for the shuttles, we decided to head to Pierce College anyway, leaving plenty of time to drive if we had to. Unfortunately, we did not see any signage on the campus letting us know where we should go. After driving around the campus a couple of times we pulled over, booked a $68 parking spot at the Dome’s west garage, and set the driving directions on my phone.

As we exited the freeway, our concern only grew. The T-shirt sellers were not selling Slipknot shirts, they were for Green Day. There was also a concert at SoFi! Two shows, both letting out at approximately the same time. This was not going to be good!

We had left early enough that the path to the parking lot was clear. The entrance was well-designed and we were able to turn into it without any delay. The lot is supposed to be equipped with license plate reading technology that allows you to drive in without a delay to interact with the attendant, but apparently they have not dialed in this technology yet and we had to show our parking reservation. The only minor problem we encountered was that we were on the fourth level and handicap spaces are only on the first two. While they did allow us to park in a space usually reserved for electric vehicle charging, the higher floor meant we had to take an elevator to get back to our car on the way out.

Once out of the car we began to experience the “Fandom lives here” mentality of the new arena. The security checkpoint was set up inside the lot and was staffed with very friendly employees with smiles on their faces. There was some confusion about where we had to go with the wheelchair, but that is a problem that will be solved as operations get more experienced. Every interaction ended with an iteration of “Have a great show.”

The pedestrian bridge empties into a courtyard dominated by a huge video screen and a strange, but interesting sculpture built out of basketball hoops (the primary purpose of the arena is a home for the Los Angeles Clippers). Merchandise booths had been set up on an outdoor basketball court in front of the video screens. There were also booths to buy drinks. As I passed one by I was told, once again, to “have a great show.”

We were still an hour away from doors opening, but employees were already circulating making sure that the line to get in was orderly and that attendees were in the right place. The Dome is heavily dependent on technology to improve the fan experience and several employees checked in with us to ensure that we had set up Game Face ID on our phones and that each guest had their ticket on their device. This allowed us to enter without encountering a ticket taker. Instead, facial recognition technology on their tablets was used to check our eligibility as we walked through the front gate.

A staff member immediately saw my wife’s wheelchair and directed us to the elevator that would bypass the massive escalators to the top of the arena. As we entered the elevator lobby the smell hit me. It was like being in a giant new car. This arena was brand spanking new.

We easily found our seats as the first usher we met not only gave us directions but followed us to make sure that we were headed in the right direction. The usher in our section made sure that we were properly situated, making sure that there was room for the wheelchair. Abiding by my wife’s request, he left it behind another chair in case she wanted to transfer later on. Before leaving us he made sure to tell us to “have a good show.” He greeted me everytime I departed or returned to my seat.

Next up was a search for food. Instead of traditional food booths, everything is self-served. Our group of three people tried the double hamburger, the LA Street Dog, and the Chicken Tenders with Waffle Fries. All food was hot and tasty with prices that were reasonable for an arena. We also bought a couple of pretzels that were warm and buttery. My wife did complain that the one we purchased later in the evening tasted a little stale. A $12 souvenir cup allowed me to get free refills of Coke products all night. The checkout was also done through the Game Face technology, which was a little persnickety in letting us in, but otherwise worked out well. After I got home I noticed that the system did miss checking out one hamburger.

Unlike the Honda Center, there were plenty of “universal” restrooms. Our only complaint was that there was little oversight of these rooms to ensure that people who required access were given priority. Given that the Intuit Dome “has more restrooms than any arena” it was disappointing that members of the public do not recognize that the companion bathrooms are necessary for some.

The wheelchair seating section we were in was at the top of the Dome but still provided a great view. There is a wrap-around video screen that provides video from the stage. It was extremely clear (I could see skin tags on the singers from the first two bands!) but I found it somewhat distracting as I had to force myself to focus on the stage instead of the giant video images that were directly in front of me.

In between the bands, I was amazed by how much of the crowd noise was absorbed. The acoustics of the show seemed great, but, admittedly, Slipknot or their openers are not the best bands to judge tonality.

One unique aspect of the fan experience are LED lights built into the seats. These were programmed to be part of the show and provided a unique experience.

After the show, the exit out of the arena was efficient. While there was a slight delay in getting into the elevators in the parking lot, exacerbated by one of them being broken, everything else went quickly. Instead of leaving drivers to their devices, staff members were directing traffic within the structure and before we knew it we were out on the street.

The city seems to have taken the threat of gridlock seriously and traffic control was set up on the road leading to the freeway. It was a crawl, but even with the influx of traffic from two concerts, we slowly made our way to the freeway. Once there, it was smooth sailing home.

I was slightly disappointed that the actual concert was slightly less of a spectacle than I had expected and that Slipknot made the questionable decision to play only songs they wrote before the turn of the century. However, the facility mostly lived up to expectations. Some of the technology kinks still need to be worked out and the shuttle system needs a lot of work, but otherwise, this does seem to be a place that is “built for fans.” Fandom does seem to live there.

Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs, who serves as the Education Chair for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD’s District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him “a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles.” For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.