Crypto.com Arena, long still called Staples Center, opened in downtown Los Angeles on October 17, 1999, after years of effort to return a major sports venue to the city center. Privately financed and built beside the convention center, it became home to the Lakers, Kings, Sparks, and for many years the Clippers. The arena quickly emerged as one of Los Angeles’s leading stages for sports and entertainment, hosting championship games, boxing, UFC, the Grammy Awards, and major memorial and concert events. Its identity has evolved through a 2021 naming-rights change, recent renovations, the Clippers’ 2024 departure, and a planned role in the 2028 Summer Olympics.