In another sign of its mainstream acceptance, the Staples Center, home of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team, is being renamed after a cryptocurrency company.
A Singapore-based firm is paying more than $700 million U.S. for the rights to the 20,000-seat stadium, which will be called the “Crypto.com Arena” going forward.
The deal to rename the Staples Center runs for 20 years and the rebrand will be effective as of Christmas Day this year.
The Staples Center is home to three professional sports teams - basketball's L.A. Lakers and L.A. Clippers, as well as the L.A. Kings hockey team.
The arena also hosts major boxing events as well as some of music's biggest stars, including Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift.
The stadium was opened in October 1999 and this would mark its first name change. The office supply company Staples initially paid $100 million U.S. for the naming rights for a 10-year period. In 2009, it signed a deal to extend those rights.
Crypto.com launched in 2016. Today, the company has some 10 million users and 3,000 employees. Its main business is running an online exchange that allows users to trade and store cryptocurrencies, but it has recently launched its own digital token.
In recent years, cryptocurrency companies have become increasingly involved in sports sponsorship as the industry seeks to obtain mainstream recognition.
Crypto.com already has more than $400 million U.S. worth of sports sponsorship deals, including a high-profile shirt partnership with the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team.
