Crypto.com bags naming rights for home of LA Lakers
The naming rights for Staples Center, home of the LA Lakers, has been bagged by the mobile wallet provider and crypto exchange Crypto.com and will henceforth be known as the Crypto.com Arena.
This was reached in an agreement between the owner of the building, Anschutz Entertainment Group, and Crypto.com and it is valid for 20 years though details of the financial deal were not disclosed. It is reported that it could be north of $700 million. The naming rights for the stadium had been on hold for the last 2 years as the 20 years agreement between Staples and the building owner expired in 2019 and the rights were not renewed but were bought back by the owner. The owner wanted to transfer it over to a business that was more forward-looking and in tune with the future and when Crypto.com realized this, they stepped in and negotiated an agreement. To give some context, FTX had paid $135 million for 19-year naming rights for the Miami Heat NBA Arena.
Many crypto companies have been on a hunt for sports-related sponsorships and in certain cases, it has even extended to the sponsoring of e-sports teams as the crypto industry realizes the synergy between the fans of various sports and the users of crypto and blockchain. These naming rights and other sports-related sponsorships help to build the branding of the various crypto companies and with the huge surge in interest for crypto all around the world and with funds being poured into the industry by the investors, the various businesses have been able to splash them around as they seek to gain a foothold in the US and other regions.
The official naming is expected to happen on Christmas Day and this is likely to be a big boost to the crypto industry within the US as it becomes more mainstream. Some of the crypto critics warn that all these developments are reminiscent of the early 2000s when the internet boom took over the world and a large amount of funds were poured into the industry which was then splashed around but 90% of the internet startups failed and only a few thrived. But for now, it is the time of the crypto industry and it may not be a surprise if other crypto exchanges and companies like Coinbase also join the bandwagon and push through large sponsorships for their branding and also to bring crypto to the mainstream.
