Staples Center
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
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 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) and the Los
Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA D-League were also tenants until both
franchises were discontinued. Staples Center is also host to over 250
events and nearly 4,000,000 visitors a year.
Structure and architectureStaples 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. 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. 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. 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.
Star Plaza
Outside the arena at the Star Plaza are statues of Wayne Gretzky and
Magic 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.[8] On April 20, 2010 a fourth statue of the late long time Lakers
broadcaster Chick Hearn, behind a Laker desk with a chair for fans to
sit down for a picture, was unveiled. A fifth statue of the Laker legend
Jerry West dribbling was unveiled on February 17, 2011.
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.
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.[9]
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.
The arena opened on October 17, 1999, with a Bruce Springsteen & The
E Street Band concert as its inaugural event. Since its opening day, it
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, two NBA All-Star Games (in
2004 and 2011), the Pacific-10 Conference Men's Basketball Tournament,
since 2002, the WTA Tour Championships, from 2002-2005, UFC 60 in 2006,
UFC 104 in 2009, 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.[6] In addition to hosting WrestleMania 21, which held the
venue's attendance record of 20,193 until it was surpassed in January
2009 by the 20,820 draw for the Shane Mosley vs Antonio Margarito
Welterweight fight, it has also hosted Unforgiven 2002, Judgment Day
2004, No Way Out 2007, and SummerSlam for three consecutive years since
2009 (set to host its third year), as well as other WWE events. The Los
Angeles Kings, of the NHL hosted the 2010 NHL Entry Draft at the arena
in June 2010.
Night view of Staples Center and L.A. LiveThe arena has hosted
concerts by many famous artists, spanning many different genres. Mariah
Carey kicked off the US leg of her Rainbow World Tour at the arena on
March 16, 2000, this marked her first performance in the US, since 1993.
Beyoncé performed at the Center during The Beyoncé Experience Tour on
September 2, 2007, which was filmed and released as, The Beyoncé
Experience Live. Taylor Swift performed at the arena 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". Michael Jackson rehearsed for his This Is
It concerts at the arena, before his death. On July 7, 2009, a public
memorial for Michael Jackson was held at Staples Center. K-pop talent
agency SM Entertainment held its annual SM Town tour for the first time
in America at the venue on September 4, 2010 which featured the likes of
BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, SHINee, and f(x) thus
becoming the first Koreans ever to perform at the venue.
Staples Center before a Clippers gameOn 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, 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
Clippers adopted the new see through shot clock prior to the 2010-11 NBA
season. 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.
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.
During the late summer of 2010, modifications were made to the arena,
including refurbished locker rooms for the Clippers, Kings, and Lakers
and the installation of a new high-definition center-hung video
scoreboard, replacing the original one that had been in place since the
building opened in 1999.
The Panasonic Live 4HD scoreboard was officially unveiled on
September 22nd, as AEG and Staples Center executives, as well as player
representatives from the Clippers (Craig Smith), Kings (Matt Greene),
and Lakers (Sasha Vujacic) were on hand for the presentation.
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