Staples Center

Staples Center
Location	1111 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, California, 90015
Broke ground	March 31, 1998
Opened	October 17, 1999
Owner	L.A. Arena Company Anschutz Entertainment Group
Operator	L.A. Arena Company Anschutz Entertainment Group
Construction cost	$375 Million USD
Architect	NBBJ
Capacity	Basketball: 19,079[1] Ice hockey: 18,118 Arena football: 18,118 Concerts: 20,000 Boxing/Wrestling: 21,000
Tenants
Los Angeles Clippers (NBA) (1999–present) Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) (1999–present) Los Angeles Kings (NHL) (1999–present) Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA) (2001–present) Los Angeles Avengers (AFL) (2000–2008) Los Angeles D-Fenders (D-League) (2006–present)

Staples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. Opening on October 17, 1999, it is one of the major sporting facilities in the Los Angeles metropolitan area and Greater Los Angeles Area.

It is owned and operated by the L.A. Arena Company and Anschutz Entertainment Group. The arena is home to the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA D-League, the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL), and the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League (AFL) were also tenants until the franchise was discontinued.^[2] Staples Center is also host to over 250 events and nearly 4,000,000 visitors a year.^[3]

Description

Structure and architecture

Staples Center measures 950,000 square feet (88,257.9 m²) of total space, with a 94-foot (28.7 m) by 200-foot (61.0 m) arena floor. It stands 150 feet (45.7 m) tall.^[2] The arena seats up to 19,079 for basketball, 18,118 for ice hockey and arena football, and around 20,000 for concerts or other sporting events.^[1][3] Two-thirds of the arena's seating, including 2,500 club seats, are in the lower bowl. There are also 160 luxury suites, including 15 event suites, on three levels between the lower and upper bowls.^[2] The arena's attendance record is held by the fight between World WBA Welterweight Champion, Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley with a crowd of 20,820 set on January 25, 2009.^[4]

Outside the arena are statues of Wayne Gretzky and Earvin Johnson, although both sports legends played at The Forum, where the Kings, Lakers and Sparks previously played. A third statue of boxer Oscar De La Hoya was unveiled outside Staples Center on December 1, 2008.^[5] On April 20, 2010 a fourth statue of the late long time Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn was unveiled.

History

Staples Center in Los Angeles hosts the Los Angeles Lakers (NBA), Los Angeles Clippers (NBA), Los Angeles Kings (NHL), and Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA).

Construction broke ground in 1998 and the Staples Center was opened a year later. It was financed privately at a cost of $375 million and is named for the office-supply company Staples, Inc., which was one of the center's corporate sponsors that paid for naming rights.^[2]

The venue opened as the home of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, as well as the NHL's Los Angeles Kings in 1999. The WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks joined in 2001, while the NBA D-League's Los Angeles D-Fenders joined in 2006. It became home to the AFL's Los Angeles Avengers in 2000 until the team's discontinuation in 2008.^[6] Staples Center was named New Major Concert Venue in 2000 and Arena of the Year in 2000 and 2001 by Pollstar Magazine and has been nominated each year since its 1999 opening.^[3]

Staples Center opened on October 17, 1999, with a Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band concert as its inaugural event. Since its opening day, Staples Center has hosted seven NBA Finals series with the Lakers, three WNBA Finals, the 2000 Democratic National Convention, the 2002 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, the 52nd NHL All-Star game, the 2004 NBA All-Star Game, the Pac-10 Basketball Finals since 2002, the WTA Tour Championships from 2002 to 2005, UFC 60 in 2006, the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards in 2000, the annual Grammy Awards since 2000 with the exception of 2003, the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships, the Summer X Games indoor competitions since 2003, as well as numerous concerts and HBO Championship Boxing matches.^[3] In addition to hosting WrestleMania 21, which held the venue's attendance record of 20,193 until it was surpassed in January 2009 for the Shane Mosley vs Antonio Margarito Welterweight fight which drew 20,820 people, Staples Center has also hosted Unforgiven 2002, Judgment Day 2004, No Way Out 2007, and SummerSlam 2009 as well as other World Wrestling Entertainment events.^[6] SummerSlam will return to the Staples Center for the second year in a row in August. The Los Angeles Kings of the NHL hosted the 2010 NHL Entry Draft at Staples Center in June 2010.

Night view of Staples Center and L.A. Live

Staples Center has hosted concerts for many famous artists, including Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, U2, Garbage, KISS, Kings of Leon, Damian Marley, Paul McCartney, Mariah Carey, Cher, 'N Sync, Lil' Bow Wow, Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Clay Aiken, Kelly Clarkson, Rihanna, Kanye West, N.E.R.D, Lupe Fiasco, Taylor Swift, Alicia Keys, Britney Spears, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Aerosmith, Lenny Kravitz, Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, Honor Society, Jordan Sparks, Wonder Girls, Madonna, New Kids on the Block, Lady Gaga, Shakira, Jordan Pruitt, High School Musical & American Idol Live!, among others.

Mariah Carey kicked off the US leg of her Rainbow World Tour at the Center on March 16, 2000; this marked her first performance in the US in seven years, since her Music Box Tour in 1993. Beyoncé performed at the Center during The Beyoncé Experience Tour on September 2, 2007. This performance was filmed and later released as a DVD, titled The Beyoncé Experience Live. Taylor Swift performed at the Center during her Fearless Tour on May 22, 2009 and April 15–16, 2010. John Mayer was a special guest at the May 22 show, together they performed "Your Body Is a Wonderland" and "White Horse".^[7] Michael Jackson rehearsed for his This Is It concerts at the Staples Center before his death. On July 7, 2009, a public memorial for Michael Jackson was held at Staples Center. Shakira will perform here by her first time ,during the Tour of Earthly Delights on October 23, 2010; being the first colombian performing in Staples Center. As of May 2010, 20.000 tickets had been sold, filling the 100% of the total capacity.

On January 22, 2006, Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant scored a career-high 81 points in the Staples Center against the Toronto Raptors, the second-highest number of points scored in a single game in NBA history,^[8] second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point performance. Of the team's five NBA championships since moving to the venue, the Lakers have celebrated their 2000 and 2010 victories at Staples Center with series-winning victories at home.

Prior to the 2006-07 NBA season, the lighting inside Staples Center was modified for Lakers games. The lights were focused only on the court itself (hence the promotional Lights Out campaign), reminiscent of the Lakers' early years at The Forum. Initial fan reaction was positive, and has been a fixture on home games since. The Daktronics see-through shot-clock was first installed prior to the 2008-09 NBA season. The said system, however, is currently used only for Lakers games, as the Clippers still use the old four-sided shot clock. For Sparks games, the court used is named after Sparks legend Lisa Leslie, and was officially named prior to the 2009 home opener against the Shock on June 6, 2009.

On October 21, 2009, Staples Center celebrated its 10th anniversary.^[9] To commemorate the occasion, the venue's official website nominated 25 of the arena's greatest moments from its first ten years with fans voting on the top ten. ^[10]

L.A. Live

Staples Center is only a part of a much larger 4,000,000-square-foot (371,612.2 m²) development by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) adjoining Staples Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center. The development, known as L.A. Live, broke ground on September 15, 2005. L.A. Live is designed to offer entertainment, retail and residential programming in the downtown Los Angeles area.^[11][12]

Image gallery

Staples Center

Staples Center as seen from Nokia Plaza

Front entrance of the Staples Center

Staples Center crossing

Satellite view of Staples Center prior to the L.A. Live development

Staples Center, viewed from Pico Boulevard

Staples Center prior to a Los Angeles Kings game

References

External links

• Staples Center official website
• AEG Worldwide
• Arena map and directions

Links to related articles Events and tenants Preceded by Great Western Forum Home of the Los Angeles Lakers 1999 – present Succeeded by current Preceded by Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Home of the Los Angeles Clippers 1999 – present Succeeded by current Preceded by Great Western Forum Home of the Los Angeles Kings 1999 – present Succeeded by current Preceded by first arena Home of the Los Angeles Avengers 2000 – 2008 Succeeded by current Preceded by Great Western Forum Home of the Los Angeles Sparks 2001 – present Succeeded by current Preceded by Pepsi Center Host of the NHL All-Star Game 2002 Succeeded by Office Depot Center Preceded by Philips Arena Cowboys Stadium Host of the NBA All-Star Game 2004 2011 Succeeded by Pepsi Center TBD Preceded by Madison Square Garden Host of WrestleMania 21 2005 Succeeded by Allstate Arena Preceded by United Center Host of the Democratic National Convention 2000 Succeeded by FleetCenter Preceded by Shrine Auditorium Madison Square Garden Host of the Grammy Awards 2000-2002 2004- present Succeeded by Madison Square Garden current Preceded by first arena Host of the Latin Grammy Awards 2000 Succeeded by Conga Room Los Angeles Lakers Formerly the Detroit Gems and the Minneapolis Lakers • Founded in 1946 • Based in Los Angeles, California The Franchise Franchise • Team History • All-Time roster • Draft history • Seasons • Records • Head coaches • Current season Arenas Minneapolis Auditorium • Minneapolis Armory • Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena • The Forum • Staples Center Coaches Kundla • Mikan • Castellani • Pollard • Schaus • van Breda Kolff • Mullaney • Sharman • West • McKinney • Westhead • Riley • Dunleavy • Pfund • Johnson • Harris • Rambis • Jackson • Tomjanovich • Hamblen • Jackson D-League Affiliate Bakersfield Jam Administration Dr. Jerry Buss (Majority Owner) • Anschutz Entertainment Group (Minority Owner) • Patrick Soon-Shiong (Minority Owner) • Mitch Kupchak (Vice President & GM of Basketball Ops.) • Phil Jackson (Head Coach) Retired Numbers 13 • 22 • 25 • 32 • 33 • 42 • 44 • Chick Hearn (Microphone) Minneapolis Lakers Hall of Famers (Mikan, Mikkelsen, Martin, Lovellette, Pollard, Coach Kundla) NBA Championships (16) 1949 • 1950 • 1952 • 1953 • 1954 • 1972 • 1980 • 1982 • 1985 • 1987 • 1988 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2009 • 2010 Rivals Boston Celtics • Philadelphia 76ers • San Antonio Spurs • Houston Rockets • Detroit Pistons • Sacramento Kings Culture and Lore "Showtime" • Wilt the Stilt • Mr. Clutch • The Captain • Lakers vs. Celtics • Chick Hearn • Jack Kent Cooke • The Fabulous Forum • Staples Center • The Punch • Big Game James • Celebrity fans • Shaq–Kobe feud • 81 • Black Mamba • The Diesel • Lawrence Tanter • I Love L.A. • 0.4 Media TV: KCAL • Fox Sports West • Radio: KSPN-AM • KWKW • Announcers: Joel Meyers • Stu Lantz • Spero Dedes • Mychal Thompson Los Angeles Sparks Founded in 1997 • Based in Los Angeles, California The Franchise Franchise • Most recent season Arenas Great Western Forum • Staples Center Head Coaches Linda Sharp • Julie Rousseau • Orlando Woolridge • Karleen Thompson • Ryan Weisenberg • Henry Bibby • Joe Bryant • Michael Cooper • Jennifer Gillom Administration Owner: Jerry Buss • Carla Christofferson & Kathy Goodman Sponsor: Farmers Insurance General Manager: Rhonda Windham • Penny Toler All-Stars Tamecka Dixon • Chamique Holdsclaw • Lisa Leslie • Mwadi Mabika • Taj McWilliams-Franklin • Delisha Milton-Jones • Candace Parker • Nikki Teasley • Tina Thompson Seasons 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 Playoff Appearances 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 Conference Titles 2001 • 2002 • 2003 WNBA Titles 2001 • 2002 Rivals Detroit Shock • Houston Comets • New York Liberty • Phoenix Mercury • Sacramento Monarchs • San Antonio Silver Stars • Seattle Storm Media TV: FSN Prime Ticket, FSN West • Announcers: Larry Burnett, Lisa Leslie Los Angeles Clippers Formerly the Buffalo Braves and the San Diego Clippers • Founded in 1970 • Based in Los Angeles, California The Franchise Franchise • Expansion Draft • Seasons • Draft history • Head coaches • Broadcasters • Current season Arenas Buffalo Memorial Auditorium • Maple Leaf Gardens • San Diego Sports Arena • Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena • Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim • Staples Center Head coaches Schayes • McCarthy • Ramsay • Locke • MacKinnon • Mullaney • Fitzsimmons • Shue • Silas • Lynam • Chaney • Shue • Casey • Schuler • Brown • Weiss • Fitch • Ford • Todd • Gentry • Johnson • Dunleavy • Hughes • Del Negro General Managers Donovan • Sonju • Scheer • Baylor • Dunleavy • Olshey D-League affiliate Bakersfield Jam Administration Donald Sterling (Owner) • Andy Roeser (President) • Neil Olshey (General Manager) Culture and lore Clipper Nation • 2006 NBA Playoffs • Buffalo Braves Media TV: Prime Ticket • Radio: KFWB • KTNQ • Announcers: Ralph Lawler • Mike Smith • Brian Sieman Los Angeles Kings Franchise Team • 1967 Expansion • Expansion Draft • Bailey History Players • Coaches • Captains • Draft picks Personnel Owners: Philip Anschutz, Edward Roski, Jr. • General manager: Dean Lombardi • Head coach: Terry Murray • Team captain: Dustin Brown • Current roster Arenas Long Beach Arena • Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena • Great Western Forum • Staples Center Seasons 1967–68 • 1968–69 • 1969–70 • 1970–71 • 1971–72 • 1972–73 • 1973–74 • 1974–75 • 1975–76 • 1976–77 • 1977–78 • 1979–79 • 1979–80 • 1980–81 • 1981–82 • 1982–83 • 1983–84 • 1984–85 • 1985–86 • 1986–87 • 1987–88 • 1988–89 • 1989–90 • 1990–91 • 1991–92 • 1992–93 • 1993–94 • 1994–95 • 1995–96 • 1996–97 • 1997–98 • 1998–99 • 1999–00 • 2000–01 • 2001–02 • 2002–03 • 2003–04 • 2004–05 • 2005–06 • 2006–07 • 2007–08 • 2008–09 • 2009–10 • 2010–11 Media TV: Broadcasters • FSN West • Radio: KTLK (1150 AM) Culture and Lore Miracle on Manchester • Freeway Face-Off • Frozen Fury Current arenas in the National Basketball Association Eastern Conference Air Canada Centre · American Airlines Arena · Amway Center · Bradley Center · Conseco Fieldhouse · Madison Square Garden · The Palace of Auburn Hills · Philips Arena · Prudential Center · Quicken Loans Arena · TD Garden · Time Warner Cable Arena · United Center · Verizon Center · Wells Fargo Center Western Conference American Airlines Center · ARCO Arena · AT&T Center · EnergySolutions Arena · FedExForum · New Orleans Arena · Oklahoma City Arena · Oracle Arena · Pepsi Center · Rose Garden · Staples Center · Target Center · Toyota Center · US Airways Center Current arenas in the National Hockey League Eastern Conference Air Canada Centre · BankAtlantic Center · Bell Centre · Consol Energy Center · HSBC Arena · Madison Square Garden · Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum · Philips Arena · Prudential Center · RBC Center · St. Pete Times Forum · Scotiabank Place · TD Garden · Verizon Center · Wells Fargo Center Western Conference American Airlines Center · Bridgestone Arena · HP Pavilion · Honda Center · Jobing.com Arena · Joe Louis Arena · Nationwide Arena · Pepsi Center · Rexall Place · Rogers Arena · Scotiabank Saddledome · Scottrade Center · Staples Center · United Center · Xcel Energy Center Current arenas in the NBA Development League Eastern Conference Allen County War Memorial Coliseum · Bismarck Civic Center · Louis J. Tullio Arena · MassMutual Center · Portland Exposition Building · Sioux Falls Arena · Wells Fargo Arena Western Conference Cedar Park Center · Dr Pepper Arena · Jam Events Center · McKay Events Center · Qwest Arena · Reno Events Center · Santa Ana Star Center · State Farm Arena · Tulsa Convention Center Current arenas in the Women's National Basketball Association Eastern Conference Allstate Arena · Conseco Fieldhouse · Madison Square Garden · Mohegan Sun Arena · Philips Arena · Verizon Center Western Conference AT&T Center · BOK Center · KeyArena · Staples Center · Target Center · US Airways Center WrestleMania venues Madison Square Garden (I, X, XX) · Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (2, VII) · Rosemont Horizon (2, 13, 22) · Nassau Coliseum (2) · Pontiac Silverdome (III) · Trump Plaza (IV, V) · Skydome (VI, X8) · Hoosier Dome (VIII) · Caesars Palace (IX) · Hartford Civic Center (XI) · Arrowhead Pond (XII, 2000) · FleetCenter (XIV) · First Union Center (XV) · Reliant Astrodome (X-Seven) · Safeco Field (XIX) · Staples Center (21) · Ford Field (23) · Citrus Bowl (XXIV) · Reliant Stadium (XXV) · University of Phoenix Stadium (XXVI) · Georgia Dome (XXVII) Downtown area, Los Angeles Districts and neighborhoods Arts District · Bunker Hill · Chinatown · Civic Center · Fashion District · Financial District · Gallery Row · Historic Core · Jewelry District · Little Tokyo · Skid Row · South Park · Old Bank District · Toy District · Wholesale District Points of interest Angels Flight · Broadway · City Hall · Convention Center · L.A. 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