Two California teenagers stormed an unfinished $1 billion NBA arena in the middle of the night and even went so far as to shoot hoops, a story shared by the world on social media and infuriated by local officials. .
The boys appear to have broken into the Intuit Dome, the Clippers’ future home in Inglewood, Calif., in a 90-second TikTok video posted Thursday, showing orange work outside the construction site. It is shown that he was climbing a business ladder.
The brazen duo roamed the hallways and bleachers of the empty stadium, recording themselves shooting basketballs on an unfinished court.
Video shows one of the suspects, who was wearing Los Angeles Lakers pajama pants and Crocs, attempting a slam dunk using a work bucket before squirting a fire extinguisher into the hoop.
They were then seen climbing onto the bridge in the rafters before heading onto the roof.
From there, the teens posed for the camera, revealing their faces again and taking panoramic photos of the city skyline before the video ended.
They doubled down on their illegal actions, captioning the video “Invasion of Clippers Stadium” and adding hashtags for the Clippers, Lakers and LeBron James.
Englewood Mayor James E. Butts later identified the two men and their parents.
“I think it’s obvious to these young men, and to our followers on TikTok, that after the greatness of TikTok, there are moments that are a little bit miserable. So we don’t mess around with these things,” Butts said. told ABC 7.
“When you have a construction site, it’s a nuisance, it attracts children, it attracts people who want to steal tools,” Butts added. “The truth is, that’s what happens when you build a large project.”
Butts said security will be “intensified” at the privately-funded arena because the city is well aware of the wanton criminal activity flaunted on social media.
“What’s going to happen is they’re going to increase safety times times outside of construction hours,” Butts said. fox 11 los angeles.
The Clippers plan to break ground on the arena in September 2021 and open in August. According to USA TodayThe Clippers spent $2 billion on this project.
Inglewood police told the outlet there were no signs of vandalism at the unfinished stadium.
It’s unclear whether the boys were charged with trespassing, a misdemeanor in California, but they could face up to six months in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
Intuit Dome is just 4 miles from Los Angeles International Airport.
Videos on the account reveal an alarming trend of them infiltrating sports venues.
A video posted in July 2023 shows one of the boys climbing the fence outside Sofi Stadium onto the field, while another boy records his steps.
In another video posted in August, the same teens sneak into Dodgers Stadium and record themselves on the field. This time it was broad daylight.
The latest video of them breaking into the Clippers’ new facility had been viewed more than 140,000 times as of Sunday morning, and they are facing backlash for the daring stunt.
One person commented: “They’re going to make an example of you.”
One person joked, “Laker sweatpants are a bad idea lol.”
“Crazy to post this,” another said.
