The Staples Center will become Crypto.com Arena starting December 25th of this year.
After spending the last two decades as the home of the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers and Kings, the world-renowned venue sold its naming rights for $700 million.
As part of the agreement, the soon-to-be Crypto.com Arena will undergo a massive renovation not unlike the one that occurred with Madison Square Garden recently.
Given that the Staples Center had been home to so many incredible sports memories for LA fans, the announcement that it would soon have a new moniker elicited many strong reactions.
In a late night post, Kobe Bryant’s widow Vanessa published this on Instagram:
It’s tough to argue with that assessment. Kobe played a significant role in establishing the Staples Center as a must-see venue whenever he played. There’s a reason why LA sports fans reacted the way they did when a guy tried to publicly disrespect Kobe in his own city.
Vanessa wasn’t the only member of the Laker family to react to the name change.
Former team forward Kyle Kuzma, who is now with the Washington Wizards, also weighed in.
Sheeshhh RIP @STAPLESCenter https://t.co/WycoWdpPkt
— kuz (@kylekuzma) November 17, 2021
Various members of the LA Clippers also offered their thoughts.
“The Lakers have their history here, Kobe, especially my era, growing up, watching those championships. Shaq [O’Neal]. Nah, it’s too many memories. It’s gonna be hard to not call it Staples,” Reggie Jackson said on Tuesday night.
Obviously this change will take some getting used to on the part of all parties involved.
Alex Caruso’s model girlfriend brought a special guest to the last Lakers game. https://t.co/6Kkvr8EbpU
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 17, 2021
Regardless of how everyone feels, though – the name change is happening. Will it at some point feel a little less weird than it currently does? Time will tell.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
