Staples Center
Staples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles (U.S.A). Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. Opening on October 17, 1999, it is one of the major sporting facilities in the Los Angeles metropolitan area and Greater Los Angeles Area. It is owned and operated by the L.A. Arena Company and Anschutz Entertainment Group. As the home of four professional sports franchises - the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, the NHL's Los Angeles Kings and the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks - STAPLES Center has proven to be a home court advantage for the local teams. The Lakers capped-off each of their first three seasons at STAPLES Center by winning consecutive NBA Championships while the Sparks captured back-to-back WNBA Championships in their debut seasons at STAPLES Center. The Kings and Clippers have both set franchise records for attendance and sellouts since making STAPLES Center their home. In addition to the impressive schedule of sports and entertainment events, STAPLES Center continues to distinguish itself as the host of high-profile events of national and international distinction. These include the 2000 Democratic National Convention, the 2002 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, the 2002 NHL All-Star game, the 2004 NBA All-Star Game, 2009 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, nine GRAMMY Awards shows, the innovative ESPN X Games, the WTA Tour Championships, and is the home to the NCAA Men's Pacific Life Pac 10 Basketball Championships. STAPLES Center's first nine years have also been marked with performances and special events that brought international stature to Los Angeles' sports & entertainment icon including concerts by Prince, U2, Usher, Paul McCartney, Don Henley, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Garth Brooks, Phil Collins, the Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews, Britney Spears, Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, Janet Jackson, *N Sync, Simon & Garfunkel, Van Halen, Dixie Chicks, Counting Crows, John Mayer, Shania Twain, Peter Gabriel, Ricky Martin, Tina Turner, Luis Miguel, Billy Joel, Lionel Ritchie, The Police, Reba McEntire, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Faith Hill & Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Rod Stewart, Tool, Shakira, Depeche Mode, Cher, Bette Midler, The Backstreet Boys, Mariah Carey, Eurythmics, Googoosh, Joan Sebastian, Marco Antonio Solis and a New Year's Eve spectacular starring The Eagles, Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt; world championship boxing including Lennox Lewis vs. Vitali Klitschko for the World Heavyweight Championship, "Sugar" Shane Mosley vs. Oscar De La Hoya and Roy Jones, Jr. vs. Julio Gonzalez and the first-ever Latin Grammy Awards. In addition, the arena hosted ten sold-out WWE dates, Michael Flatley's Feet of Flames, Stars on Ice, UFC 39 and the Harlem Globetrotters.
