Staples Center

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 18,997 spectators. When it hosts concerts and boxing matches, the Staples Center has a capacity of 20,000. Due to its location and the teams that play here, it is probably one of the most well-known indoor arenas in the world.

It is owned and operated by the L.A. Arena Company and Anschutz Entertainment Group. The arena serves as the home of two National Basketball Association 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.

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.

Outside the arena are statues of Wayne Gretzky and Magic Johnson, although both sports legends played at the Great Western 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.