Crypto.com Arena

Coordinates: 34°02′35″N 118°16′02″W / 34.04306°N 118.26722°W / 34.04306; -118.26722
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Staples Center
)

Crypto.com Arena
The House that
Wrestling: 16,000–21,000
Ice hockey: 18,230[3]
Arena football: 16,096
Field size950,000 sq ft (88,000 m2)
Construction
Broke groundMarch 31, 1997 (1997-03-31)
OpenedOctober 17, 1999 (1999-10-17)
Construction costUS$375 million
(US$686 million in 2023 dollars[4])
ArchitectNBBJ
Structural engineerJohn A Martin & Associates[5]
Services engineerM-E Engineers Inc.
General contractorPCL Construction Services, Inc.[6]
Tenants
Los Angeles Kings (NHL) (1999–present)
Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA) (2001–present)
Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) (1999–present)
Los Angeles Clippers (NBA) (1999–present)
Los Angeles Avengers (AFL) (2000–2008)
Los Angeles D-Fenders (NBA G-League) (2006–2010)
Website
cryptoarena.com

Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center) is a multi-purpose

.

It is the only arena in the NBA shared by two teams, as well as one of only three North American professional sports venues (alongside SoFi Stadium in nearby Inglewood, and New Jersey's MetLife Stadium) to currently host two teams from the same league. The venue is also frequently used for major concerts, and has been the most frequent host of the Grammy Awards ceremony since its opening.

Crypto.com Arena will host the basketball competition during the 2028 Summer Olympics. In 2024, the Clippers are scheduled to leave Crypto.com Arena for their own arena, Intuit Dome.

Description

Crypto.com Arena has 950,000 square feet (88,257.9 m2) of total space, with a 94-foot (28.7 m) by 200-foot (61.0 m) arena floor. It stands 150 feet (45.7 m) tall.[7] The arena seats up to 19,067 for basketball, 18,145 for ice hockey, and around 20,000 for concerts or other sporting events.[2][8] Two-thirds of the arena's seating, including 2,500 club seats, are in the lower bowl. There are also 160 luxury suites, including 15 event suites, on three levels between the lower and upper bowls.[7] The arena's attendance record is held by the fight between World WBA Welterweight Champion Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley with a crowd of 20,820, set on January 25, 2009.[9]

Star Plaza

Star Plaza entrance at Crypto.com Arena

Outside the arena at the Star Plaza are statues of famous Los Angeles athletes and broadcasters. Additionally, the Los Angeles Kings Monument was erected in Star Plaza in 2016.[10]

Following is a list of statues on display:

Name Sport Date Notes
Wayne Gretzky Ice hockey October 9, 2002
Magic Johnson Basketball February 11, 2004 Played for the Los Angeles Lakers at The Forum from 1979 to 1991 and in 1996
Oscar De La Hoya Boxing December 1, 2008, [11] East Los Angeles, California native
Chick Hearn Basketball April 20, 2010 Long-time Lakers broadcaster (1961–2002)
Jerry West Basketball February 17, 2011 Played for the Lakers from 1960 to 1974 and coached the Lakers from 1976 to 1979
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Basketball November 16, 2012 Played for the Lakers at The Forum from 1975 to 1989
Luc Robitaille Ice hockey March 7, 2015[12] Played for the Kings from 1986 to 1994, 1997 to 2001, and 2003 to 2006
Shaquille O'Neal Basketball March 24, 2017[13]

Played for the Lakers from 1996 to 2004

Bob Miller Ice hockey January 13, 2018[14] Long-time Kings broadcaster (1973–2017)
Elgin Baylor Basketball April 6, 2018[15] Played for the Lakers from 1958 to 1971
Dustin Brown Ice hockey February 11, 2023[16] Played for the Kings from 2003 to 2022
Kobe Bryant Basketball February 8, 2024[17] Played for the Lakers from 1996 to 2016

History

During a Lakers game prior to the installation of the new scoreboard, and after the implementation of a new lighting system

The arena has been referred to as "the deal that almost wasn't."

Majestic Realty and Philip Anschutz.[20] Roski and Anschutz had acquired the Los Angeles Kings in 1995 and in 1996 began looking for a new home for their team, which then played at the Forum in Inglewood.[21][22]

Majestic Realty Co. and AEG were scouring the Los Angeles area for available land to develop an arena when they were approached by Steve Soboroff, then president of the LA Recreation and Parks Commission. Soboroff requested that they consider building the arena in downtown Los Angeles adjacent to the convention center. This proposal intrigued Roski and Anschutz, and soon a plan to develop the arena was devised.[20]

Months of negotiations ensued between Anschutz and city officials, with Roski and John Semcken of Majestic Realty Co. spearheading the negotiations for the real estate developers. The negotiations grew contentious at times and the real estate developers threatened to pull out altogether on more than one occasion.[20] The main opposition came from Councilman Joel Wachs, who opposed utilizing public funds to subsidize the proposed project,[19][23] and councilwoman Rita Walters, who objected to parts of it.[24]

Ultimately, the developers and city leaders reached an agreement, and in 1997, construction broke ground on the new building, which opened two years later. It was financed privately at a cost of US$375 million and was named for the office-supply company

Staples, Inc., which was one of the center's corporate sponsors that paid for naming rights.[7] Staples' 20-year naming rights deal was renewed in 2009.[25] The arena opened on October 17, 1999, with a Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band concert as its inaugural event.[26]

On October 21, 2009, the arena celebrated its tenth anniversary.[27] To commemorate the occasion, the venue's official web site nominated 25 of the arena's greatest moments from its first ten years with fans voting on the top ten.[28][29]

The

Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, California for the 2011–12 season.[7]

The arena in 2016, prior to a Kings game featuring the new jumbotron.

During the 2010 NBA and NHL offseason, the arena was renovated with refurbished locker rooms for the Lakers, Kings, and Clippers, and the installation of a new

Sasha Vujacic), Clippers (Craig Smith), and Kings (Matt Greene
) were on hand for the presentation.

On January 15, 2018, in the aftermath of an NBA basketball game between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Clippers, point guard Chris Paul utilized a secret tunnel (connecting the away team's locker room to the backdoor of the Clippers locker room) to confront former Clipper teammates Austin Rivers and Blake Griffin. Paul was joined by teammates Trevor Ariza, James Harden, and Gerald Green to confront the opponents, which only resulted in verbal altercations.[31]

Following the death of

Kobe Bryant Boulevard".[34]

In September 2021, the Clippers broke ground on a new arena in Inglewood, California known as Intuit Dome, which is expected to become its new home arena in 2024.[35][36]

On November 16, 2021, it was announced that the naming rights to the Staples Center had been acquired by Singapore-based

Christmas Day game). The deal was reported to be valued at $700 million over 20 years, in comparison to the $116 million paid by Staples under its previous 20-year agreement—making it the most valuable naming rights contract in all of sports.[37][25] The name change was met with opposition and many fans still refer to this arena as the Staples Center.[38]

In 2022, the arena began to undergo a multi-phase renovation, expected to be completed in 2024; the first phase over the 2022 NBA and NHL offseason included new video boards and ribbon displays, and updated concessions. There are plans for the City View Terrace to be converted into an indoor outdoor deck, a new area known as the Tunnel Club, Chick Hearn Court to be converted into a pedestrian plaza between the arena and the rest of L.A. Live, and updated player facilities such as locker rooms.[39]

Events

Music