The home court for the LA Lakers is about to undergo a rebranding. In a headline-grabbing move, Crypto.com, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Singapore, will take the place of Staples. It recently purchased the title rights to the famous Los Angeles court.
The branding will go up on Christmas day. A Lakers home game is scheduled for that day. This comes from a report by the company that runs and owns the arena Anschutz Entertainment Group. Crypto.com has made quite a several sports sponsorships in recent times; this is the latest.
The CEO of Crypto.com, Kris Marszalek, disclosed that he couldn’t think of a better place to have a naming right than the home of the famous LA Lakers. He sees the Staples center as a place with a lot of cultural heritage. Kris believes that they have, with this move, get a lot closer to achieving mainstream brands like Nike and Apple.
Details Of The Deal And Crypto Investment In Sports
The total financial valuation of the deal was not disclosed. Two sources close to the value, however, said it is worth over 700 million dollars to span two decades. Crypto.com has spent a lot in sports sponsorships in recent times, sponsoring teams in almost every sport.
These deals show a desire and a plan by cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology companies to get more public interest and get into spaces where they are visible to young people with interests in sports and immersive entertainments like video games. Taking things further, they currently have an advertising campaign worth about a hundred million dollars featuring Hollywood star Matt Damon.
The Significance Of The Timeline
The deal comes when many investors and firms are looking to cash in on the bullish train and excitement surrounding cryptocurrency today. On the flip side, we see politicians remaining worried about the instability of the market and the lack of market regulations. Crypto.com, of course, is not the only cryptocurrency company trying to buy naming brands and get in front of audiences.
The Miami Heats’ home arena has also undergone a name change this year. This time it was FTX Trading Ltd that took over from American Airlines Group as the sponsor of the arena. The company also rebranded a University football field in California for the Golden Bears.
The Capital flow is not going just one way, though. Not only do cryptocurrency companies invest in sports, but famous athletes are also investing in cryptocurrencies. The NBA itself has partnered with firms in the past to launch one of the most successful NFT collections of all time.
The Staples Center soon-to-be Crypto.com arena plays host to around 4 million people a year. It hosts not just Laker games but boxing events and even the Grammys. In all, it hosts over 200 events a year. Staples Inc bought the naming rights in 1999 for about a hundred million dollars. It is currently home to the Lakers and the Clippers in the NBA, the WNBA’s Sparks, and the NHL’s Kings. The Clippers, though, are set to move in 2024.
At the moment, Crypto.com is the tenth-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. It oversees transactions worth almost 2 billion dollars daily. Its native token CRO is trading around 48 cents with about a 10% jump in price today.