The owners of the iconic Staples Center in Los Angeles announced Tuesday night that after more than two decades, the venue will be renamed Crypto.com Arena.
AEG – which owns the arena that opened in 1999 and is home to the Lakers, Los Angeles Kings and for a few years to come, the Clippers, as well as hundreds of entertainment events a year – revealed that the change The name will indeed go on December 25, the same day the Lakers host the Brooklyn Nets in a Christmas game.
Welcome to the future: happy to share the new era of @cryptocom Arena in downtown Los Angeles. The journey begins on Christmas Day.
More here: https://t.co/YFRL6eh9mu pic.twitter.com/TMByM7IlKJ
– AEG (@AEGworldwide) November 17, 2021
According to ESPN, Singapore-based cryptocurrency platform and marketplace NFT will spend $ 700 million for 20-year naming rights on the arena; the arena itself cost $ 350 million, and more than two decades later, it doubled that construction cost just on naming rights.
The movement is the last in Crypto.comthe aggressive push for name recognition in the growing cryptocurrency landscape, with the company also recently hiring Matt Damon for an advertisement produced by David Fincher. Crypto.com also purchased the sponsorship patch on the Philadelphia 76ers jerseys.
“This partnership represents the fastest growing cryptocurrency platform and largest live sports and entertainment company in the world converging to drive the future of live sports and entertainment, as well as the ‘incredible legacy of this arena for decades to come, “Todd Goldstein, AEG’s chief revenue officer, said in a statement. “This marks an exciting new chapter in the history of our company and our respective industries, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have such a visionary partner as Crypto.com to support our global fan base and local community. “
After the announcement, people who got attached to a name tied to a near-run-down office supply chain took to social media to poke fun at the arena’s rebranding, even though in reality the name is just as strange as many arenas and amphitheatres. sponsorship deals across the country: Smoothie King Arena in New Orleans; Wantagh, Northwell Health of New York at Jones Beach; Seattle’s new Climate Pledge Arena; the RV Inn Style Resorts amphitheater in Washington State; and dozens of others.
NBA players were initially taken aback by Tuesday’s announcement, with Paul George of the Clippers, from Los Angeles, saying of the name change: “It will be weird. I grew up being Staples and Staples being the place to play and the place to be. It will certainly be weird. It’s the same place, but it’s kind of like taking the story out here and calling it something else. From there, I guess it’s a new story to write. (However, the Clippers are moving to the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood in 2024.)
Paul George on Staples Center renamed Crypto .com Arena:
“It’ll definitely be weird. It’s the same place but it’s kind of like taking the history out of here and calling it something else… Luckily we won’t be staying here too long.”pic.twitter.com/r2JPCtWDF2
– Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) November 17, 2021
As the “Staples Center†disappears, as Vanessa Bryant noted on social media, the arena will forever be “The House That Kobe Builtâ€:
Vanessa Bryant’s response to the Staples Center name change announcement. pic.twitter.com/hV1t1G2OEM
– KNX 1070 RADIO INFORMATION (@ KNX1070) November 17, 2021