Crypto.com and many other exchanges have been immersing themselves in sports sponsorships lately. Staples Center has been home to a lot of special moments over the course of it’s twenty years in Los Angeles. In a Tuesday night tweet, NBA insider Shams Charania stated that cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com secured a new naming rights deal that would rename the building to Crypto.com Arena.
Crypto.com & Sports
Most notably known as the home of the LA Lakers, the venue also host professional teams including the LA Kings and LA Sparks. The venue lies in what can often be a bustling downtown area home to LA Live. The tweet from Charania also noted that it was expected to be the largest U.S. venue naming rights deal to date. The LA Times subsequently confirmed Charania’s tweet, with confirmations from both Crypto.com and AEG. A press release followed as well.
Staples Center – the iconic home of the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers among others since 1999 – will have a new name beginning Dec. 25: https://t.co/lur8Hbuv0r Arena. It’s believed to be the largest U.S. venue naming rights deal to date.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 17, 2021
That’s no light statement from Charania, as FTX took over naming rights in Miami’s former American Airlines Arena for $135M earlier this year. Additionally, just down the road in Los Angeles, the naming rights deal for SoFi Stadium landed at $500M over 20 years. The incoming Intuit Dome, which will be the new home for the LA Clippers, came in at $600M for a 23-year deal.
Crypto.com’s deal is a record-setting $700M, 20-year deal. Talk about a bet on crypto. According to Axios’ Dan Primack, building own AEG had bought back the naming rights from Staples, and Crypto.com had been in conversations with AEG earlier in the year.
President and CEO of AEG Dan Beckerman said that the two parties “not only share a vision about innovation and the future of sports and entertainment, but we also have a shared commitment to our communities where we work and live.”
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Crypto.com's native token, CRO, has responded to the recent news of the new naming rights deal. | Source: CRO-USD on TradingView.com
The New Look
According to the announcement, the building’s internal signage will be replaced with Crypto.com assets by the Lakers’ Christmas Day game next month. Outside signage is expected by June of next year. The press release also gave us a photo of what we can expect outside signage to look like on the historic venue:
The extent of exposure on teams playing the arena is not yet completely clear.
Crypto.com continues its aggressive run in sports sponsorships, adding the arena to a list that includes the Philadelphia 76ers, UFC, F1, Paris Saint-Germain, and more. Rival crypto exchanges, most notably Coinbase and FTX, have been also securing partnerships and ambassadors in sport at rapid pace.
Expect much more to come in this area as exchanges battle for market share.
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Featured image from Pexels, Body Image From Staplescenter.com, Charts from TradingView.com