In a deal between Anschutz Entertainment Group and the Singapore cryptocurrency exchange, the venue will carry the Crypto.com Arena name for 20 years. According to reports, Crypto.com paid $700 million to AEG for the naming rights.
The new logo made its debut on December 25 while the Crypto.com signage will replace the old Staples Center signage by June.
AEG announced in November that the deal with Crypto.com puts the “brand at the center of some of the biggest and most important sports and live entertainment moments set to take place over the course of the next two decades”.
AEG’s chief revenue officer Todd Goldstein said: “This partnership represents the fastest-growing cryptocurrency platform and the biggest sports and live entertainment company in the world converging to drive the future of sports and live entertainment as well as the incredible legacy of this arena for decades to come”.
For AEG’s CEO Dan Beckerman, “This partnership is about the future”. He added that “AEG and Crypto.com not only share a vision about innovation and the future of sports and entertainment, but we also have a shared commitment to our communities where we work and live”.
Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek hopes that this will be a big moment for the blockchain/crypto industry. He said that “In the next few years, people will look back at this moment as the moment when crypto crossed the chasm into the mainstream”.
Crypto.com Arena will still be the home of the Los Angeles Lakers until 2041. On the other hand, the Clippers will move to Inglewood in 2024.
The Staples Center formally opened in 1999. Staples Inc paid AEG $100 million for the 10-year naming rights. In 2009, Staples signed a deal for naming rights in perpetuity. However, AEG later bought the naming rights back in 2019.
Since 1999, Lakers won six championships while WNBA’s Sparks won three, and the NHL’s Kings had two championships.
Crypto.com is aggressively putting its brand at the forefront of mainstream sports and teams. In July, Crypto.com signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship for a 10-year partnership. The advertisement deal costs $175 million, the biggest sponsorship UFC received. As part of the deal, Crypto.com will appear on fighters’ uniforms.
And two months after its deal with the UFC, Crypto.com sponsored the Philadelphia 76ers. The deal was worth $10 million annually. Crypto.com also sponsored esports organization Fnatic and Canadian hockey team Montreal Canadiens.
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These men at the helm are all known for their sharp business acumen, and it appears that the plan is to turn Southampton into a multi-model club, similar to the likes of Red Bull. This usually entails a shopping spree of clubs and businesses to build a sports empire and create value from the development and sale of players from within the structure of the organization.
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Rasmus Ankersen spent 6 years as a director of football at Brentford and is known for completely remodeling the club’s transfer and player development operations. He played a massive role in their promotion to the Premier League by leaning heavily on data analysis to identify value in the transfer market. The team was able to profit from identifying high potential players and sold them later to other Premier League and Championship clubs. The likes of Ollie Watkins (sold to Aston Villa for £34 million) and Neal Maupay (£22 million to Brighton) come to mind. This is a crucial skill in Sport Republic’s future as club owners if the firm wants to be successful both on and off the pitch.
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Dragan Solak comes from an affluent family in Serbia and is the son of an influential businessman. He himself has become an industry leader and made a lot of money as a media mogul in south-eastern Europe. In a list released by a Serbian magazine of the 100 richest Serbians, he came third with a fortune worth £1.4 billion. He started out in buying and selling of TV shows and films, then launched a telecom and cable TV business in 2000 – Serbia Broadband (SBB).
After just 5 years of operations, SBB was able to control almost 50% of the local market. The company was sold in 2014 to KKR, an American investment firm, and formed United Group. Until today, Solak sits as the chairman of United Group and the firm has held the streaming rights for almost all of Europe’s top-flight over several countries with an annual turnover of almost £1.7 billion. This is also where Henrik Kraft enters the picture, as he sat on the board of directors of United before quitting in 2016. Kraft is an investment banker and venture capitalist, known for maintaining a low profile and being well-connected within the industry.
In recent times, however, there has been a conflict between Solak and the Serbian government due to his business competing with state-owned media companies. Telekom Srbija, a majority state-owned company with close ties to Serbia’s president started buying rights to the UEFA Champions League, La Liga, Serie A, and now the Premier League using public funds. The media company offered £500 million for exclusive streaming rights of the Premier League across several countries for six seasons. This amount is difficult to justify from a business perspective, which is why it has been speculated that this is more of a political move meant to put pressure on Solak.
There are hard-nosed, savvy men on board and they should elevate Southampton in the Premier League, where they currently sit 12th and have been underperforming for years. Although supporters wonder what their true intentions are, they can rest assured that the club will achieve new heights because of the ambition of Solak and his partners.
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According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, “By all accounts, the former MVP has clear intentions to reach unrestricted free agency for the first time, even if that would lead him back to the Nets”. Fischer also pointed out that Harden is “frustrated” with Irving being a part-time player for the Nets. And aside from that, Harden is allegedly “disappointed” by Steve Nash’s coaching style.
Harden never became a free agent since he started his NBA career 13 years ago. But as the February 10 trade deadline nears, free agency or a trade is a possibility.
During a pre-game meeting, Nash questioned Fischer’s report. He said “I just heard about these reports and I haven’t spoken to him about any of these things. I’m not sure what to believe. James and I speak all the time and have great relationship, so I’m not sure the validity of these comments, to be honest”.
During post-game, Harden also answered the reports. Harden said “I don’t know about any reports”. He continued saying “Of course, I’m frustrated because there’s a lot of inconsistency for whatever reason: injuries, COVID, or whatever you want to call it. Everyone in this organization is frustrated because we are better than what our record is and we should be on the way up. That’s all it is”.
Fischer isn’t the only one saying that Harden will become a free agent next season. There’s Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic and Marc Stein who used to work for ESPN and New York Times as their writer. ESPN writer Brian Windhorst and Philadelphia Inquirer writer Keith Pompey also wrote about the possible move next season.
The speculation started in October. Harden declined an extension even after Marks already said that both Harden and Irving would be extending their contracts. Fischer then speculates that there could be a sign-and-trade deal involving Ben Simmons during the off-season. Fischer also wrote that Harden is also open to going with Daryl Morey, his old Rockets GM in Philadelphia.
However, a sign-and-trade agreement isn’t exactly simple. Some writers speculate that such trade will most likely include other draft picks such as Philly’s defensive player Matisse Thybulle.
If Harden ends up as a free agent and somehow ended in Philadelphia, teaming up with Embiid and Morey could present the possibility of getting the championship that he wants. Since his days in Houston, Dwayne Wade’s titles have been a tough self-imposed yardstick for Harden.
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