Staples Center to be renamed the Crypto.com Arena — but Reggie Jackson will 'still be calling it Staples'
Cryptocurrency is taking over the Staples Center.
The Los Angeles arena, home of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers, will be renamed the Crypto.com Arena beginning Dec. 25 in a 20-year agreement with Anschutz Entertainment Group. The arena's external signage is set to be replaced by June 2022, the announcement said. The cryptocurrency platform whose name the arena will now carry, Crypto.com, was founded in 2016.
"This partnership represents the fastest-growing cryptocurrency platform and the biggest sports and live entertainment company in the world converging to drive the future of sports and live entertainment as well as the incredible legacy of this arena for decades to come," AEG Chief Revenue Officer Todd Goldstein said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Some fans were a bit taken aback by news of the new name, though, as were players for the Clippers, with Paul George telling The Los Angeles Times that referring to their home as the Crypto.com Arena will "definitely be weird," and "it's kind of like just stripping the history here by calling it something else." Clippers guard Reggie Jackson, meanwhile, reacted with confusion and suggested he'll continue using the old name anyway.
"I don't know how it's gonna be not Staples, like, I can't, I can't see it," Jackson told the Los Angeles Times. "I apologize ahead, I'll still be calling it Staples."
The arena has been known as the Staples Center ever since it opened in 1999, The New York Times notes, and it's also the home of the Los Angeles Sparks and the Los Angeles Kings. While the terms of the deal weren't officially revealed, Axios reports the "total value exceeds $700 million." That means, according to ESPN, this is "believed to be the richest naming rights deal in sports history."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
A Man on the Inside: Netflix comedy leaves you with a 'warm fuzzy feeling'
The Week Recommends Charming series has a 'tenderness' that will 'sneak up' on you
By The Week UK Published
-
Bread & Roses: an 'extraordinarily courageous' documentary
The Week Recommends Sahra Mani's 'powerful' film examines the lives of three Afghan women under the Taliban
By The Week UK Published
-
V13: a 'marvelous and terrifying' account of the Bataclan terror trials
The Week Recommends Emmanuel Carrère's work is 'absolutely gripping'
By The Week UK Published
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box office
Speed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appeal
Speed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91
Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76
Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproar
Speed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Kevin Hart awarded Mark Twain Prize
Speed Read He is the 25th recipient of the prestigious comedy prize
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Is Downton Abbey set to return for a final film?
Speed Read Imelda Staunton reveals that a third movie may be in the pipeline
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published