The downtown Los Angeles home of the NBA’s Lakers and
Clippers, the NHL’s Kings and the WNBA’s Sparks will change its name after 22
years of operation, arena owner AEG announced Tuesday night.
A person with knowledge of the deal tells The Associated
Press that Crypto.com is paying $700 million over 20 years to rename the
building. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the parties aren’t
publicly announcing the terms of what’s believed to be the richest naming
rights deal in sports history.
The 20,000-seat arena has been the Staples Center since it
opened in October 1999, with the naming rights owned by the American
office-supplies retail company under a 20-year agreement. The name will change
when the Lakers host the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA’s annual Christmas showcase.
Crypto.com is a cryptocurrency platform and exchange
headquartered in Singapore. Founded in 2016, Crypto.com has been on a spending
spree across the global sports landscape over the past year. The platform has
inked high-visibility sponsorship deals with Formula One, the UFC, Italy’s
Serie A, Paris St-Germain and the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens — while also
purchasing the Philadelphia 76ers’ uniform sponsorship patch.
AEG, the sports and entertainment conglomerate that has
majority ownership of the Kings and had a stake in the Lakers until last
summer, built the arena that quickly became a famous setting for major events
in the U.S.′ second-largest metropolitan area.
Along with its sports tenants, the arena has hosted 19
Grammy Awards ceremonies, three NBA All-Star Games, two NHL All-Star Games and
countless high-profile concerts, performances and important public events,
including memorials for Michael Jackson, Nipsey Hussle and Kobe Bryant.
The Lakers have won six NBA championships during their
tenure in the cavernous arena, including three straight in its first three
years of operation. Banners commemorating the Lakers’ 17 NBA titles hang high
on the walls above the playing floor, providing what might be the most distinctive
interior feature of the building.
The Sparks have won three WNBA titles while at the Staples
Center, and the Kings won their first two Stanley Cup championships in 2012 and
2014 there, clinching both on home ice.
The Clippers will be short-timers at Crypto.com Arena.
They’re scheduled to open owner Steve Ballmer’s $1 billion, 18,000-seat Intuit
Dome in Inglewood in 2024 when their Staples Center lease expires. The Sparks
also could leave downtown then, although nothing has been decided. -AP
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