Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
In 2021, one of the world’s most famous sport venues underwent a significant name change.
Los Angeles’ legendary Staples Center was renamed to Crypto.com Arena on December 25, 2001, in what is believed to be the largest U.S. venue naming rights deal to date.
Many Lakers fans have always associated the franchise with their iconic home, since they had been playing at Staples ever since it opened its doors in 1999. This is also why the name changed led to plenty of criticism by aggravated fans.
While the contract with Crypto.com spans over a 20-year time period (worth $700 million), some fear that Crypto.com won’t be able to fulfill its obligations, as Crypto.com is reportedly set to suspend the offering of their exchange in the United States, and the company will halt operations on U.S. soil as of June 21 due to market constraints.
The closing of the exchange however will reportedly not affect the naming rights to the Lakers’ arena.
In a statement, https://t.co/RbGGF9XJog announced the exchange closing will not affect its retail app business. “We remain fully confident in the continued success of our market differentiating capabilities and offerings,” it read, in part. https://t.co/nNWym89fZp
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) June 9, 2023
Furthermore, AEG, which has a business deal for the naming rights of https://t.co/RbGGF9XJog Arena, does not anticipate today’s news affecting the name of the downtown Los Angeles home for the Lakers, Clippers, Kings and Sparks. https://t.co/UCBcpcdJJa
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) June 9, 2023
