The L.A. Clippers' spiffy new home in Inglewood has the bells and whistles befitting a $2 billion venue — from boasting five basketball courts to the most leg room of any arena in the NBA to a promise of a frictionless experience at the parking lots and concessions.
But the Intuit Dome promises to offer something no other venue in the state allows — the ability to serve alcohol in VIP suites until 4 a.m., thanks to a bill that Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk has signed into law.
AB 3206 would "authorize alcoholic beverage sales to occur between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. upon the on-sale licensed premises operated in a fully enclosed arena with a seating capacity of at least 18,000 seats located in the City of Inglewood if specified conditions are met," according to the bill's language, which matches the description of the Intuit Dome.
"Instead of authorizing an entire city or jurisdiction to allow after our alcohol sales, we're taking a venue-by-venue approach," said Terry Schanz, chief of staff to Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, who authored the bill.
A handful of legislative efforts have failed to expand last call in the state, including one in 2022 to allow cities like West Hollywood to serve alcohol past 2 a.m.
Schanz said those failed attempts have prompted the "new approach" in this proposal.
Concerns are raised
The exclusivity of this exception had raised concerns.
"If you have an institution that's open that late, that means added burden, for example, on law enforcement or other local businesses, whether they be gas stations or otherwise," said Laurie Levenson, a professor of criminal law at Loyola Law School and a former federal prosecutor.
"I can see that this was probably done to boost the new stadium," Levenson added. But, "the benefits have to be to the whole community, not just to particular individuals, or that really will bring on scrutiny."
"Questions like, why are they making this exception? Do they really need to make this exception? What is the problem you're trying to solve with this bill? And what are the problems you might be causing with this bill?" Levenson said.
Built-in guardrails
Schanz said the bill includes a number of measures — like including a sunset on the bill for future legislative review, a limit on the size of the area to 2,500 square feet where last-call would be extended, and and a cap on the number of patrons to 100 people.
"A lot of these guardrails are intended to make sure that we are protecting the public health and safety — not just of the patrons of the venue, but also of the surrounding community," Schanz said.
In addition, he said the Inglewood City Council will need to approve the provision every year until 2030, its built-in sunset date.
"I don't see that as causing any kind of public safety or public policy concerns," Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts said. "The reality is you're inside of an arena that has its own security in a private club area, with patrons that can afford to pay for very expensive suites. This is not an area of general public congregation."
Butts added that the 4 a.m. cutoff would only happen on event and game nights, which he calculated to be about 70 days out of the year.
"AB 3206 complements the over $2 billion of private investment that has been made through the construction of the recently opened Intuit Dome, it's another signal of Inglewood's renaissance that's underway," Schanz said.
