The Famed Staples Center In LA Is Getting A Cringey New Name—And Fans Are Up In Arms

Fans are upset over the renaming of the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The new name will be Crypto.com Arena.

Home to the NBA's Lakers, the stadium will officially change its name on Christmas day after 22 years being known as the Staples Center.

According to The Associated Press, the venue is under a $700 million deal with the Singapore-based cryptocurrency platform. This is said to be the richest naming rights deal in sports history.

Based in Singapore, Crypto.com has previously snagged some high-visibility sponsorship deals with Formula One, the UFC, Italy's Serie A, Paris St-Germain and the NHL's Montreal Canadiens. The company's inception was in 2016 but these purchases in the major sports fields have all happened over the last year.

Kobe Bryant's widow, Vanessa, disagreed with the new name as well.

She tweeted the building should be renamed after her late husband. She insisted the arena will always be "the house that Kobe built."

The five time NBA champion was memorialized there after his death in a 2020 helicopter crash that claimed the lives of all nine people aboard.

The stadium is also home to the NHL's Kings and the WNBA's Sparks.

The Kings won their first two Stanley Cup championships in 2012 and 2014. The Sparks have won three WNBA titles while at the Staples Center.

One of the more memorable features of the Staples Center is the 17 banners commemorating the Lakers' NBA titles hanging on the walls above the playing floor.

The arena has also hosted 19 Grammy Awards ceremonies, three NBA All-Star Games, two NHL All-Star Games and countless high-profile concerts, performances and important public events, including memorials for Michael Jackson, Nipsey Hussle and Kobe Bryant.