Staples Center
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| Location | 1111 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, California, 90015 |
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| Coordinates | 34°2′35″N 118°16′2″W / 34.04306°N 118.26722°WCoordinates: 34°2′35″N 118°16′2″W / 34.04306°N 118.26722°W |
| 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: 18,997 Ice hockey / Arena football: 18,118 Concerts: 20,000 |
| Tenants | |
| Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) (1999–present) Los Angeles Clippers (NBA) (1999–present) Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA) (2001–present) Los Angeles Kings (NHL) (1999–present) Los Angeles Avengers (AFL) (2000–2008) Los Angeles D-Fenders (D-League) (2006–present) |
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Staples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles, California, United States. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex. It is suitable for large indoor events, including basketball, ice hockey, arena football and concerts. When configured for basketball, the Staples Center has a capacity of 19,000 spectators. When it hosts concerts and boxing matches, the Staples Center has a capacity of 20,000.
It is owned and operated by the L.A. Arena Company and Anschutz Entertainment Group. The arena serves as the home of two NBA franchises, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers, 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) played there until they folded.[1]
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[edit] Description
[edit] 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.[1] The arena seats up to 20,000 for concerts, 18,997 for basketball, and 18,118 for hockey and arena football.[2] 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.[1] 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.[3] Outside the arena are statues of Wayne Gretzky and Earvin Johnson, although both sports legends played at the 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.[4]
[edit] History
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.[1] Staples Center opened on October 17, 1999, with a Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band concert as its inaugural event. It is home to the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA, the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL, the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA, and formerly the Los Angeles Avengers of the AFL.[5] It is the only arena that is home to 5 professional sports franchises.[5]
Staples Center was named New Major Concert Venue (2000) and Arena of the Year (2000 and 2001) by Pollstar Magazine and has been nominated each year since its 1999 opening.[2]
The arena is host to 250 events and nearly 4,000,000 visitors a year.[2] In just 10 years of existence, the Staples Center has hosted six NBA Finals series. All have been played by the Lakers. Since its opening day, the arena has also hosted three WNBA Finals (from 2001 to 2003), 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, the first 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, the UFC 60 pay per view event, as well as numerous Concerts and HBO Championship Boxing matches.[2] 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.[5] The Staples Center will be hosting SummerSlam again in 2010.
On January 22, 2006, Los Angeles Lakers superstar 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,[6] second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point performance.
On July 7, 2009, a public memorial for Michael Jackson was held at Staples Center.
On October 21, 2009, Staples Center celebrated its 10th anniversary.[7]
[edit] 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.[8][9]
[edit] Image gallery
[edit] Staples Center
 Staples Center, viewed from Figueroa Street |
 Satellite view of Staples Center |
 Staples Center entrance |
 Front entrance of the Staples Center |
 Staples Center, viewed from Pico Boulevard |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d "L.A. Facilities: Staples Center". Los Angeles Sports Council. http://www.lasports.org/lafacilities/display.php?s=Arena&id=19. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
- ^ a b c d AEG Worldwide. "AEG Staples Center". Press release. http://www.aegworldwide.com/01_venues/staples_center.html. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
- ^ Dwyre, Bill (2009-01-25). "Shane Mosley Shows He's Not Finished". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dwyre-mosley-margarito25-2009jan25,0,5631662.column. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
- ^ Plaschke, Bill (2008-12-02). "Oscar De La Hoya Gets A Statue Of Limitations". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-plaschke2-2008dec02,0,3207891,full.column. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
- ^ a b c AEG Worldwide. "About Staples Center". Press release. http://www.staplescenter.com/doublecol.php?section=about&page=aboutstaplescenter. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
- ^ NBA Staff. (2006-01-22). Watch All of Kobe's 81 Points in 3 Minutes at YouTube (requires Adobe Flash). NBA.
- ^ Howard, Andrew (2009-10-21). "Happy Birthday STAPLES Center". Los Angeles Kings. http://kings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=502976. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
- ^ AEG Worldwide. "AEG L.A. Live". Press release. http://www.aegworldwide.com/04_future/losangeles.html. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
- ^ AEG Worldwide. "L.A. Live timeline". Press release. http://www.lalive.com/timeline.php. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
[edit] External links
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