Crypto Giant Acquires Naming Rights to LA Staples Center in Massive $700 Million Deal
The Los Angeles Staples Center will have a new name effective Dec. 25, according to Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek.
“In the next few years, people will look back at this moment as the moment when crypto crossed the chasm into the mainstream,” Marszalek said in a statement about the moving, claiming the “next decade belongs to crypto.”
The five-year-old cryptocurrency exchange will become the second to acquire branding rights to a stadium after FTX, which won the right in March to rebrand Miami’s American Airlines Arena as FTX Arena. That deal cost $135 million, short of the $700 million Crypto.com reportedly agreed to fork over to AEG, the owner and operator of the Staples Center.
Paul George reacts to Staples Center's name change: "It'll be weird. I grew up with Staples Center being the place to play… It's kind of stripping history here… Good thing we won't be here too long." pic.twitter.com/Cl5Uyi5fZT
— Farbod Esnaashari (@Farbod_E) November 17, 2021
“It’s a bit of a match made in heaven, when we think about the type of brands that we like to partner with,” AEG CEO Dan Beckerman said in a statement highlighting the deal, which will extend for 20 years. “Crypto.com is looking for the most unique branding platform to make a statement and drive adoption, and we’re looking for an innovative, forward-thinking company to help us chart a course for the future of sports and entertainment events.”
Crypto.com’s native cryptocurrency, CRO, jump on the heels of the news, from a price of 38 cents on Tuesday to nearly 57 cents on Wednesday. The new price gave the token a reported market capitalization of nearly $14 billion, an increase of more than 10 times from the beginning of the year, when it stood at $1.3 billion.
Watch above via CNBC.
