Staples Center (officially stylized as STAPLES Center) is a multi-purpose 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. The arena opened on October 17, 1999.
The arena is home venue to the NBA teams: Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers, as well as the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA. The Los Angeles D-Fenders NBA G-League also played here until the franchise moved to the South Bay, becoming the South Bay Lakers.
Star Plaza[]
Outside the arena at the Star Plaza are statues of famous Los Angeles athletes and broadcasters. Among the 10 statues are Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal, and Elgin Baylor for accomplishments in basketball. Chick Hearn is also commemorated here being a long-time broadcaster for the Lakers.
Trivia[]
It is the only arena in the NBA shared by two teams, as well as one of only three North American professional sports venues to host two teams from the same league.
On August 24, 2020, a day the city of Los Angeles designated Kobe Bryant Day to honor former Lakers guard Kobe Bryant who died in a helicopter crash in January of that year, the City of Los Angeles announced that Figueroa Street between Olympic and Martin Luther King Jr., which includes the area Staples Center is on, will be renamed Kobe Bryant Boulevard.
In February 2013, PETA named Staples Center the most "vegetarian-friendly" arena in the NBA.