Staples Center in Los Angeles will be rebranded as Crypto.com Arena starting Christmas Day in a naming rights deal announced Tuesday night.
The cryptocurrency exchange, which is headquartered in Singapore, is paying a reported $700 million over 20 years to rename the 20,000-seat home of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, the NHL’s Kings and the WNBA’s Sparks.
It is believed to be the richest naming rights contract in sports history, according to ESPN.
The building in downtown Los Angeles has been called Staples Center since it opened in October 1999. The office-supply retail company held a 20-year agreement for the naming rights.
The name change takes place on Dec. 25 when LeBron James and the Lakers host Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets.
Crypto.com also has sponsorship deals with the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, Formula One, the UFC, Serie A soccer in Italy and the French soccer club Paris Saint-Germain. The NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers have a Crypto.com uniform patch.
The Clippers are scheduled to move into their new $1.2 billion Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., in 2024.
—Field Level Media
