After 22 years, the iconic Staples Center, home of the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers, and Sparks will undergo a name change December 25 and will be known as the Cyrpto.com Arena after an agreement was reached with arena owner AEG, per an announcement the sports and entertainment giant made Tuesday.
AEG owns not only owns venues like the Staples Center, LA Live, and the O2 Arena in London, they also boast majority ownership of sports teams like the LA Kings and the LA Galaxy.
“In the next few years, people will look back at this moment as the moment when crypto crossed the chasm into the mainstream,” Kris Marszalek, the chief executive of Crypto.com told the L.A Times.
“This is just such a brilliant move from the guys at AEG because the next decade belongs to crypto,” he said. “And this positions L.A. and this particular venue right at the center of it.”
The Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange and platform will reportedly pay up to $700 million over 20 years for the rights to rename the famous building. ESPN reported that the parties involved won’t be disclosing the financial terms of what’s reportedly the richest naming rights deal in sports history.
Founded in 2016, Crypto.com has signed sponsorship deals across the global sports landscape 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.
The Downtown Los Angeles arena, which holds up to 20,000 seats, has held the name of the Staples Center since its opening in 1999. During that two-decade tenure, the Lakers won six League titles. The venue has hosted many other significant events, including NBA All-Star games and NBA and WNBA Finals.
“Yeah, it’s tough, you know what I mean? Lakers fans and really sports fans in general obviously know that building as the Staples Center,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said per ESPN. “I understand the disappointment the fans will have. But that’s just the way of the world. This is the business we’re in. Almost universally around the country, there’s a business element to naming rights for the arenas. It’s really out of our control.”
Aside from sports, the arena also hosted 19 Grammy Award shows and culturally significant events like the memorials for Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant, and Nipsey Hussle.
The new logo will be revealed during the Laker’s Christmas day match against the Brooklyn Nets.
