Staples Center Renamed To Crypto.com Arena

Staples Center renamed this Christmas Day following a $700 million deal

In a bittersweet moment for Los Angeles, the news of the Staples Center rename to Crypto.com hits hard as the “House That Kobe Built” will no longer carry the Staples branding starting December 25, 2021. Since 1999, the Staples Center has been the home arena for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA basketball team, their division rival L.A. Clippers, the L.A. Sparks WNBA team, and NHL hockey team L.A. Kings.

The announcement to have Staples Center renamed was made Tuesday by both the Singapore cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com and AEG, the current Staples Center arena’s owner and operator. The $700 million naming rights deal would possibly be the most expensive naming deals in the history of sports, and having it in Los Angeles may be a digital foreshadowing of where cryptocurrency stands in the near future.

Kris Marszalek, the CEO of Crypto.com, expects that the new Staples Center rename will be recognized as a sign of the modern times. “In the next few years, people will look back at this moment as the moment when crypto crossed the chasm into the mainstream,” said Marszalek. “This is just such a brilliant move from the guys at AEG, because the next decade belongs to crypto. And this positions L.A. and this particular venue right at the center of it.”

Visitors of Crypto.com arena will notice a significant difference at the arena’s entry from L.A. Live, where 3,300 square feet will become a Crypto.com “activation space” containing crypto-centric interactive activities for sports fans and music fans. With 10 million members and 3,000 workers, Crypto.com runs an exchange that allows customers to trade cryptocurrencies, store them online, and access them with a Visa rewards debit card. It also has an NFT wing, their own virtual currency token, and cryptocurrency payment software. Both the Lakers and Kings have selected Crypto.com as their official cryptocurrency partner.

The Lakers will play their last home game under Staples Center against the San Antonio Spurs, a team they faced in the NBA playoffs often enough to be considered playoff rivals. Memories of Kobe and Shaq, Duncan and Parker, Jackson and Popovich will reminisce throughout the building that gameday on December 23. Then on Christmas Day, the 21st-century rebrand to have Staples Center renamed will take place.

Since moving to the Staples Center from the previous Great Western Forum in Inglewood, the Los Angeles Lakers have won six NBA championships. The Sparks have won three in the WNBA while the Kings have won two Stanley Cups in the NHL. As for Crypto.com, they have become the second cryptocurrency startup to secure a sports venue in the United States. In June, FTX agreed to pay $135 million to rename the American Airlines Arena in Miami to FTX Arena.

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