Credit: Unsplash

The home of the Lakers and Clippers is under new management.

The Staples Center, located in Los Angeles, is the home turf of the both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers (and also the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League). The arena first opened in 1999 through a deal between the eponymous office supply retail chain and Anschutz Entertainment Group, the owners of the physical property. However, it seems that this Christmas, when the Lakers are slated to play against the Brooklyn Nets for the NBA’s Christmas Day games, the arena will have a new name slapped on the front.

AEG announced today that a new deal had been inked to swap out the Staples branding on the arena for cryptocurrency trading platform Crypto.com, making the venue “Crypto.com Arena.” The precise terms of the deal were not publicly disclosed, but according to a source that spoke with CNBC, the price for this new branding landed around $700 million. While a big tag for sure, securing not only a massive venue but association with an NBA team as noteworthy as the Lakers will likely go a long way in promoting Crypto.com’s brand awareness.

We're extremely proud to announce that Staples Center, Los Angeles' most iconic arena is getting a new name:

https://t.co/vCNztATkNg Arena

As part of this 20 year partnership, we're also excited to welcome the @Lakers & @LAKings as our newest partners! pic.twitter.com/KCfYKySDRt

— Crypto.com (@cryptocom) November 17, 2021

“This partnership is about the future,” AEG president and CEO Dan Beckerman said in a statement. “AEG and Crypto.com 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. We look forward to partnering with Crypto.com to create meaningful initiatives to bring that vision to life in the years to come.”

The new contract stipulates that Crypto.com will maintain branding on the venue for at least the next 20 years, which was roughly the same deal originally penned by Staples back when the Center first opened. Of course, Staples only paid $116 million for their contract, so AEG is definitely getting a better deal here.