Two California teenagers broke into an unfinished $1 billion NBA arena in the middle of the night, even shooting a few baskets, for the world — and outraged local officials — to see on social media.
The miners apparently entered the Intuit Dome, the future home of the Clippers, in Inglewood, California, when they climbed an orange work ladder outside the construction field, the TikTok video showed of 90 seconds published Thursday.
The cheeky duo filmed themselves strolling through the stadium’s empty corridors and stands, then shooting basketballs on an unfinished court.
Video shows a suspect, who was wearing Los Angeles Lakers and Crocs pajama pants, used work buckets to attempt a slam dunk before spraying a fire extinguisher at the hoop.
They were then seen climbing the rafters of the bridge before heading to the roof.
From there, the teens posed for the camera, again showing their faces, and took panoramic photos of the city skyline before the video ended.
Furthering their illicit activities, they even captioned the video “Breaking into Clippers Stadium” and hashtagged the Clippers, Lakers and LeBron James.
Inglewood Mayor James E. Butts has since identified the two men and their parents.
“It will be very clear to these young men – and to people who follow TikTok – that you are experiencing a moment of greatness on TikTok followed by a bit of misery. And so we don’t play with those things,” Butts told ABC 7.
“When you have construction sites, they are nuisances and attract children and people who want to steal tools,” Butts added. “The fact is, that’s what happens when you build a major project.”
Butts said security will be “enhanced” at the privately funded arena because the city is fully aware of the reckless criminal behavior displayed on social media.
“What’s going to happen is they’re going to increase security outside of construction hours,” Butts said. Fox 11 Los Angeles.
The Clippers broke ground on the arena in September 2021 and are expected to open in August. According to USA Todaythe Clippers spent $2 billion on the project.
Inglewood police told the outlet there were no signs of vandalism at the unfinished stadium.
It’s unclear whether the minors were charged with trespassing — a misdemeanor in California — but they could face up to 6 months in prison and a fine of up to $1,000.
Intuit Dome is only about four miles from Los Angeles International Airport.
Several videos from the account reveal their alarming tendency to break into sports venues.
A video published in July 2023 shows one of the miners climbing a fence outside Sofi Stadium, then heading towards the pitch while another records him walking.
In another video posted in August, the same teens sneaked into Dodgers stadium and recorded themselves on the field — this time in broad daylight.
The most recent video of them breaking into the Clippers’ new facility was viewed more than 140,000 times as of Sunday morning, facing backlash for the audacious stunt.
“They’re going to make an example of you,” one person commented.
“With Lakers sweatpants, it’s bad lol,” another joked.
“Publishing this is crazy,” said another.
