Crypto.com Buys Naming Rights To World Famous Arena In Record Shattering Deal
Crypto.com moves ahead of FTX in the naming rights arms race.
Covered:
- Largest Deal Ever For Crypto.com
- Sam Bankman-Fried’s Potential Jealousy Of Rival Crypto Exchange
- Wistful Thinking
Crypto.com: Largest Deal In Naming Rights History
Staples Center in Los Angeles will be renamed https://t.co/oeo2R4ZA9P Arena starting in December.
It is reported to be the largest American naming rights deal for a venue in history.
$700 million over 20 years is
— Pomp (@APompliano) November 17, 2021
According to their official Twitter, Crypto.com reached an agreement to acquire the naming rights to the home of 17-time NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers’ Arena was known as Staples Center since it was built in 1999.
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The deal is reportedly worth $700 million, which is the largest in stadium naming rights history. The multi-year agreement keeps the name of the popular crypto exchange emblazoned on the world famous arena for the next 20 years.
The deal officially begins on Christmas day of this year. Christmas Day is typically a big TV ratings day for the second most popular sports league in the United States.
CRO, Crypto.com’s native token, continues to pump. The exchange token is up 35% in the last 24 hours, and over 200% the last month. It’s currently trading in the $0.56 cents USD range.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s Potential Jealousy
In the race to mass adoption, FTX's CEO @SBF_FTX believes his favored smart contract protocol $SOL will beat $ETH. #altcoins https://t.co/bPrjc2PsA1
— CRU News (@CRUNewsDesk) November 11, 2021
No word yet on how p***ed Sam Bankman-Fried is right now. Bankman-Fried is usually the go-to splashy crypto/sports headline guy.
Early this year, Bankman-Fried purchased the naming rights to the Miami Heat’s arena. He also recently splurged on a Super Bowl commercial.
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However, the home of the Los Angeles Lakers has far more cultural cache. Not only are the Lakers always a few years away from their next dynasty, the team’s proximity to Hollywood always keeps the team relevant nationally.
Nevertheless, even with the massive move from Crypto.com, Sam Bankman-Fried still leads the arms race overall. The FTX exchange has deals with the MLB, Esports Leagues, and sports stars like Tom Brady and Trevor Lawrence.
Wistful Thinking
The Lakers also share the arena with the Los Angeles Clippers (also of the NBA), Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA), and the Los Angeles Kings (NHL). The Clippers are moving to their own arena in 2024.
Clippers guard Reggie Jackson told the LA Times, “I don’t know how it’s gonna be not Staples, like, I can’t, I can’t see it,” Jackson said. “I apologize ahead, I’ll still be calling it Staples.” NBA reporter Ohm Youngmisuk also mentioned on Twitter that Jackson, “Jackson said he will always think of this as Staples and remember moments created by Shaq and Kobe. Reggie took a picture of the marquee players walk by toward locker room.”
Another Clippers player Paul George shared a similar sentiment: “It’s just, it’s the same location, but it’s kind of like just stripping the history here by calling it something else.”
It’s interesting to see how saddened some are to go from one corporatized arena name to another. Especially a name that was around for just about 22 years. The Lakers’ previous home was The Forum, where they played for over 30 years.
Perhaps one day future NBAers will be sad to see the Crypto.com name go, too.
The post Crypto.com Buys Naming Rights To World Famous Arena In Record Shattering Deal appeared first on CryptosRus.
Text source: CryptosRus
