Clippers New Arena Suffered Troublesome Start With Ticketing Issue on Opening Night

The Intuit Dome hosted a Bruno Mars concert on opening night of the arena and had plenty of logistical issues.

Jan 16, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; A general overall aerial view of the Intuit Dome construction site. The arena will the future home of the LA Clippers and site of the 2026 NBA All-Star Game. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Intuit Dome, the new home of the Los Angeles Clippers in Inglewood, Calif., had its grand opening on Thursday night as the state-of-the-art arena hosted a Bruno Mars concert.

The first big event in any venue could certainly be subject to logistical issues, and the Intuit Dome was no different on Thursday, as fans had issues entering the arena with their tickets, leading to long lines for fans trying to get into the concert.

the @Intuitdome system crashed and we all standing outside looking stupid... not a single person scanned in. its been 30min. staples would NEVER pic.twitter.com/kFclCj2zFd

— Pepper Potts (@cocoapixi) August 16, 2024

Mars was supposed to take the stage around 8 p.m. local time, but due to the delays with thousands stuck outside of the arena, Mars didn't begin his portion of the concert until just before 10 p.m.. The issue with entry stemmed from a problem with the arena's facial recognition system, according to ABC 7 News in Los Angeles.

However, once the concert began, fans were treated with a surprise appearance from Lady Gaga to go along with a performance from Mars to rid the frustration from earlier in the night.

Here's hoping the logistics of the arena improve moving forward.