And it is safe to say with 3 NBA teams… I doubt #DonaldSterling will approve! We love it.
The downtown Los Angeles home of the NBA’s Lakers and Clippers, the NHL’s Kings and the WNBA’s Sparks will change its name after 22 years of operation, arena owner AEG announced Tuesday night.
It is safe to say with 3 NBA teams… I doubt #DonaldSterling will approve #cro #cryptotrading #cryptocurrencies #visa pic.twitter.com/KV7cgZBpab
— Black Cosmopolitan (@blkcosmo) November 17, 2021
The arena’s new logo will debut Dec. 25, when the Lakers host the Brooklyn Nets, and all of Staples Center signage will be replaced with the new name by June 2022.
Crypto.com’s chief executive, Kris Marszalek, hopes that the new name will come to be seen as a sign of the times.
According to ESPN, the Singapore-based cryptocurrency platform and NFT marketplace will spend $700 million for the 20-year naming rights on the arena; the arena itself cost $350 million, and over two decades later, it doubled that construction cost just on the naming rights.
“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,” Todd Goldstein, Chief Revenue Officer of AEG, said in a statement. “It marks an exciting new chapter in the history of our company and our respective industries, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have such a visionary partner like Crypto.com supporting our global fan base and local community.”
The agreement also names Crypto.com as the “official cryptocurrency platform partner” of the Lakers and Kings.
Naming one of the most recognizable arena’s in the world certainly helps raise awareness of digital currency. Recently, Los Angeles Angels player Shohei Ohtani announced he is joining cryptocurrency exchange FTX as a global ambassador and taking a stake in the company.
SoftBank-backed FTX has been aggressively spending to land an A-list roster of sponsors, including legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady and his wife Gisele Bundchen, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, the men’s basketball team of the University of Kentucky and Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
FTX also now holds the naming rights to the home arena of the Miami Heat as well as the football field at UC Berkeley. As part of a deal with Major League Baseball, umpires wear an FTX patch on their uniforms.
It’s high time we embrace the future. Appreciate where things are going. The boring insurance companies are a thing of the past — and instead here are some free ideas for teams to find their next corporate sponsors. I’ll leave the business side of this for them to work out, because I am a gentle idiot incapable of brokering naming rights deals.
- TikTok Arena
- Jake and Logan Paul Present: Paul Bros. Stadium
- Instagram Influencer Dome
- Twitch.com Kappa Arena
- Doge Coin Stadium
- The Milkshake Duck “Unfortunate Surprise” Dome
- Q Stadium
- The Mark Zuckerberg Sports Adjacent Metaverse Athletic Complex
- Turmeric Bone Broth Dome
- Soylent Green Stadium
- Elon Muskdome
- Fortnite Superdome
- Joe Rogan Self-Fellacio Stadium