Crypto.com Buys Naming Rights to Staples Center in LA

Cryptocurrency trading site Crypto.com reportedly is paying $700 million in a 20-year deal to hang its name on the leading indoor sports and concert venue in Los Angeles, currently called the Staples Center. The new name is planned to debut on Christmas Day 2021, when the arena’s prime tenant, the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), will play in a nationally televised game against the Brooklyn Nets.

The Staples Center also hosts home games of the Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Crypto.com is bidding to raise its own profile in a big way by linking its name with a leading major league sports venue whose prime tenant, the Lakers, is also among the top brands in the NBA.

Links With Other Valuable Brands

The Lakers have been valued by Forbes at $5.5 billion, making them the third most valuable brand in the NBA, behind the New York Knicks and the Golden State Warriors. The Kings, meanwhile, have been valued by Forbes at $825 million, placing them sixth within the NHL.

At a reported $700 million over 20 years, the deal reached by Crypto.com also is evidence of the explosive growth in the cost of obtaining naming rights on big-league arenas and stadiums in major cities. In 1999, office supply store chain Staples paid $116 million in a 20-year deal to hang its name on the same arena, a deal that was extended in 2009.

Additionally, Crypto.com has paid $100 million to have its name associated with Formula 1 auto racing. Crypto.com also has entered into a sponsorship deal with the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL that includes having its logo displayed prominently at center ice in their arena, the Bell Centre. Forbes values the Canadiens at $1.34 billion, placing them third in the NHL, after the New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs.