Venue design for 2028 LA Olympics scores early win for KC firm on Intuit Dome team

As eyes turn from Paris to the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, Lenexa-based Henderson Engineers is finishing its work on a $2 billion NBA arena project that ultimately will host games for the LA Clippers and Olympians from across the globe.

“It’s no secret that Kansas City is a sports mecca when it comes to our amazing football, baseball, and soccer teams. But our city is also doing some amazing work behind the scenes,” said Eric Taylor, senior mechanical engineer at Henderson Engineers, noting Kansas City’s ascension as the global capital for sports architecture and engineering far ahead of the LA Olympics, set for July 14-30, 2028.

The Intuit Dome in the L.A. suburb of Inglewood, California, is expected to open Thursday and already is slated to be the site of the 2026 NBA All-Star Game. 

The halo board at Intuit Dome; photo courtesy of the L.A. Clippers

In addition to more than 17,700 seats, Intuit Dome has five full-sized basketball courts, a practice facility and training center, and an outdoor plaza with two bars, a restaurant, and a team store. The venue has the world’s largest indoor Halo Board, an oval, double-sided 4K scoreboard that measures nearly an acre.

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More than 50 Henderson Engineers employees have worked on the facility throughout the past five years, providing mechanical and fire and life safety design services. The company also helped design SoFi Stadium, which is home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers and will host swimming events at the Summer Games.

In addition to Henderson Engineers, other companies with a Kansas City presence that are involved in the arena include Dimensional Innovations, AECOM and Walter P Moore.

Dimensional Innovations was responsible for the Intuit Dome’s branded office design/athlete facility design, sponsor activations, fan experiences, signage and wayfinding.

“Whether you’re attending a game in person or watching it on TV at home, there’s a very strong chance that the arena or stadium was designed by engineers or architects in Kansas City. This is true across all professional leagues and major collegiate sports across the country,” said Taylor. “We’re proud to add Intuit Dome to the long list of iconic sports facilities that have received the Kansas City touch because of the wealth of design talent in our region and can’t wait for it to make a splash on the global stage at the 2028 Summer Olympics.”

Aerial view of the Intuit Dome in July; photo courtesy of the L.A. Clippers

At the Intuit Dome, Henderson Engineers has incorporated sustainable technologies like heat pumps, highly efficient chillers, and arena bowl under-seat supply air distribution, an innovative, energy-efficient system that provides ventilation and air conditioning from underneath the seats instead of from ducts hanging overhead. Such forward-thinking design is expected to help earn the facility a LEED Platinum certification, the highest sustainability rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The venue is all-electric and operates 100-percent carbon free, meaning it will directly produce no pollution from burning natural gas or other fossil fuels.

“Any new arena at this level provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make a bold statement. One of the major goals of this project was to raise the bar when it comes to the level of amenities at a sports facility to ensure memorable experiences for millions of fans for decades to come,” said Taylor. “The owner and design teams collectively also wanted to push the boundaries of how to sustainably build and operate an arena, and we were intentional about Intuit Dome being a net positive for the environment and a shining example for other sports venues in the future.”

The Intuit Dome design team also includes Anderson Barker Architects, City Design Studio, Hood Design Studio, Labib Funk & Associates, PBS Engineers, and S20 Consultants. AECOM Hunt is the general contractor and Turner Construction is the construction manager.