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."
NASA on Friday is named its Washington headquarters after Mary W. Jackson, the space agency's first African American female engineer whose story was portrayed in the popular film "Hidden Figures."
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
Dr. Mae Jemison, the first Black woman in space, spoke with Cheddar about how space provides the perspective of an interconnected global community.
Police say Lady Gaga’s dog walker was shot and two of the singer's French bulldogs were stolen in Hollywood during an armed robbery. The singer is offering a $500,000 reward for the return of her dogs.
Some worrisome signals in the data as new cases plateau, Biden bombs Syria, the rent is going up, WTF happened with Lady Gaga's dogs, and Love, Hate, Ate ft. Carlo's sandwich recommendation.
The government plays a key role in determining the colors of your food, and for that, we can thank the margarine wars of the late 19th century.
A designer named Robert Propst dreamed up what he called “The Action Office” as a groovy 1960s workplace utopia. This is how it all went so wrong.
USHG Acquisition Corp. a blank-check company with Shake Shack creator Danny Meyer at the helm is now trading on the NYSE in a charitable partnership with Share Our Strength, a nonprofit seeking to end childhood hunger.
Jill and Carlo are discussing the fantastic news on J&J's Covid vaccine, why the mail is so slow, semiconductors in short supply, Bruce Springsteen's DUI dropped, and can you put a price on housework?
With platforms like Starz, Netflix, and Amazon paving the way, there are indications that 2021 could be a turning point in diversifying television, in front of and behind the camera.
