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. 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.
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. 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, SummerSlam 2009 and SummerSlam 2010 as well as other World Wrestling Entertainment events. The Los Angeles Kings of the NHL hosted the 2010 NHL Entry Draft at Staples Center in June 2010.
Staples Center has hosted concerts for many famous artists, including 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, Van Halen, 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”. 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, 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. 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.
Laker won the championship of NBA
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