The iconic STAPLES Center in Los Angeles is celebrating its 20-year anniversary this week.
Founded in 1999, the arena has grown into a world-class facility — on par with New York’s Madison Square Garden and London’s O2 Arena — and is now home to four professional sports teams, including the NBA’s Lakers and Clippers.
Yet opening STAPLES two decades ago in the less-than-thriving downtown City of Angels was a risky bet.
“The success of STAPLES Center was never guaranteed,” said Lee Zeidman, the president of STAPLES Center and L.A. Live, an adjacent entertainment center. “Nobody went downtown. It rolled up its carpet and closed at 5 p.m.”
Today, STAPLES draws enormous crowds to its events, which range from basketball to hockey to the Grammy Awards. In total, the arena has held 5,000 events, welcomed 75 million fans, and sold over 20 million beers.
The arena is also gearing up for a major event in the sports world next week: the NBA’s October 22 opening night matchup between the teams that call it home: the Lakers and the Clippers.
“We will be the center of the NBA universe,” said Zeidman, who was the arena's first full-time employee 20 years ago. “It is one of the most anticipated opening night games in the history of the NBA."
Heirs of Pablo Picasso, the famed 20th-century Spanish artist, are vaulting into 21st-century commerce by selling 1,010 digital art pieces of one of his ceramic works that has never before been seen publicly.
A conservation group is turning over a historic redwood grove on the Northern California coast to descendants of the original Native American inhabitants.
Pfizer is looking for volunteers to test its new omicron vaccine, the first gun insurance requirement in the U.S., and the James Webb telescope arrives at its new home. Here is all the news you Need2Know for Wednesday, January 26, 2022.
Arguably the biggest challenge to the rise of electric vehicles is their outsized demand for rare earth minerals. Cheddar's Alex Vuocolo does a deep dive into the struggle over securing supply chains for a green tech future.
New research suggests giving extra cash to low-income mothers can change their infants’ brain development.
The administrators of the SAT say the exam will move from paper and pencil to a digital format.
Wall Street's wild swings, Ford can't keep up, and it's Neil Young versus Joe Rogan over COVID vaccine infor. Here is all the news you Need2Know for Tuesday, January 25, 2022.
A woman has taken command of the U.S.S. Constitution for the first time in its 224-year history. Cmdr. Billie J. Farrell on Friday became the 77th commanding officer of the warship that earned the nickname Old Ironsides.
Federal authorities say the last of the escaped monkeys from a Pennsylvania highway crash of a truck towing a trailer load of the animals has been accounted for.
Diplomats told to leave Ukraine, Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks up, and a look at ice pancakes. Here is all the news you Need2Know for Monday, January 24, 2022.
