One of the largest sports and entertainment venues in the United States, the Staples Center in Los Angeles, was renamed a cryptocurrency company as part of a multi-million dollar deal. The Singapore-based company paid more than $700 million (£520 million) for the rights to the 20,000-seat stadium, which will be called Crypto.com Arena.
He agreed to a 20-year contract with owner Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG). The name change will take effect from Christmas.
It also hosts major boxing events and some of music’s biggest stars, including Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift. The stadium opened in October 1999 and marked its first name change. Staples Inc., an office supply company, initially paid $100 million for the naming rights over ten years. In 2009 he signed an agreement to extend these rights indefinitely.
But in 2019, stadium owner AEG bought back the rights for an undisclosed amount. Crypto.com was launched in 2016. According to the company’s website, it has around 10 million users and 3,000 employees.
His main business is running an online exchange that allows users to trade and store cryptocurrencies but he recently launched his token. Cryptocurrency companies have increasingly become involved in sports sponsorships in recent years as the industry seeks widespread recognition.
Crypto.com has had more than $400 million in sports sponsorship deals. Including a famous t-shirt partnership with the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team. Meanwhile, Major League Baseball announced a five-year partnership with cryptocurrency exchange firm FTX in June.
And in the UK, Premier League football club Watford recently announced that its new shirt sponsor, Stake, has paid them in cryptocurrency. The Bitcoin industry giant previously sponsored the club.