One of the most iconic venues in sports and entertainment will soon be undergoing a name change.
Staples Center, the home of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers; the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings; the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks and numerous notable concerts and events will be renamed to Crypto.com Arena on December 25 following what is “believed to be the largest U.S. venue naming rights deal to date.”
The renaming deal is part of a 20-year agreement between the Singapore cryptocurrency exchange — which reportedly paid more than $700 million for the naming rights, according to sources familiar with the terms — and AEG, the owner and operator of the arena, the Los Angeles Times reports.
“In the next few years, people will look back at this moment as the moment when crypto crossed the chasm into the mainstream,” said Kris Marszalek, Crytpo.com‘s chief executive, from his home in Hong Kong via the Los Angeles Times. “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.”
The Staples was the place where Michael Jackson rehearsed his “THIS IS IT” tour in 2009 ahead of his London residency. This is the place also that the world said goodbye to the King of Pop. A place that means a lot to many fans around the world and it will stay the Staples Center for all of us.
This is one of the reasons why I really dislike stadiums being branded with sponsor’s names – because they keep changing. It has happened to most of the major AFL football venues here in Australia – with rare exceptions, including the iconic Adelaide Oval here in my hometown (and Alberton Oval, my team’s traditional home and local base – which is owned by the local council, not the league).
Sure, it will stay the Staples Center for all of us.