Staples Center Staples Center is a multi - purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles . 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 Greater Los Angeles Area . It is owned and operated by the L . A . Arena Company and Anschutz Entertainment Group . The arena is home to the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) , 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 ) and the Los Angeles D - Fenders of the NBA D - League were also tenants until both franchises were discontinued ; the D - Fenders moved to the Lakers ' practice facility at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo , California for the 2011 – 12 season . Staples Center is also host to over 250 events and nearly 4 , 000 , 000 guests a year . Description . Structure and architecture . Staples Center measures of total space , with a by arena floor . It stands tall . The arena seats up to 19 , 060 for basketball , 18 , 118 for ice hockey and arena football , and around 20 , 000 for concert s or other sporting events . Two - thirds of the arena ' s seating , including 2 , 500 club seats , are in the lower bowl . There are also 160 luxury suites , including 15 event suites , on three levels between the lower and upper bowls . The arena ' s attendance record is held by the fight between World WBA Welterweight Champion , Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley with a crowd of 20 , 820 set on January 25 , 2009 . Outside the arena at the Star Plaza are statues of Wayne Gretzky and Magic Johnson , although both sports legends played at The 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 . On April 20 , 2010 a fourth statue of the late long time Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn , behind a Laker desk with a chair for fans to sit down for a picture , was unveiled . A fifth statue of the Laker legend dribbling was unveiled on February 17 , 2011 . A sixth statue of Laker legend Kareem Abdul - Jabbar was unveiled on November 16 , 2012 . History . 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 . The venue opened as the home of the NBA ' s Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers , as well as the NHL ' s Los Angeles Kings in 1999 . The WNBA ' s Los Angeles Sparks joined in 2001 , while the NBA D - League ' s Los Angeles D - Fenders joined in 2006 . It became home to the AFL ' s Los Angeles Avengers in 2000 until the team ' s discontinuation in 2008 . Staples Center was named New Major Concert Venue in 2000 and Arena of the Year in 2000 and 2001 by " Pollstar " Magazine and has been nominated each year since its 1999 opening . The arena opened on October 17 , 1999 , with a Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band concert as its inaugural event . Since its opening day , it has hosted seven NBA Finals series with the Lakers , three WNBA Finals , the 2000 Democratic National Convention , the 2002 U . S . Figure Skating Championships , the 52nd NHL All - Star game , two NBA All - Star Game s ( in 2004 and 2011 ) , the Pacific - 10 Conference Men ' s Basketball Tournament , since 2002 , the WTA Tour Championships , from 2002 – 2005 , UFC 60 in 2006 , UFC 104 in 2009 , the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards in 2000 , the annual Grammy Award s , since 2000 , with the exception of 2003 , the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships , the Summer X Games indoor competitions , since 2003 , as well as numerous concerts and HBO Championship Boxing matches . The Los Angeles Kings , of the NHL hosted the 2010 NHL Entry Draft at the arena in June 2010 . The Stanley Cup Finals were held at the arena for the first time in . The Kings hosted the New Jersey Devils in games 3 , 4 , and ultimately defeated the Devils in game 6 by a final score of 6 - 1 . The Kings became the first team to win the Stanley Cup on home ice since . The arena has hosted concerts by many famous artists , spanning many different genres . Mariah Carey kicked off the US leg of her Rainbow World Tour at the arena on March 16 , 2000 , this marked her first performance in the US , since 1993 . Beyoncé performed at the Center during The Beyoncé Experience Tour on September 2 , 2007 , which was filmed and released as , " The Beyoncé Experience Live " . Taylor Swift performed at the arena during her Fearless Tour on May 22 , 2009 and April 15 – 16 , 2010 . Miley Cyrus sold out the arena in September 22 , 2009 on Wonder World Tour the tickets ended in a few minutes . John Mayer was a special guest at the May 22 show , together they performed " Your Body Is a Wonderland " and " White Horse " . Michael Jackson rehearsed for his This Is It concerts at the arena , before his death . On July 7 , 2009 , a public memorial for Michael Jackson was held at Staples Center . The arena was also the site of K - pop talent agency SM Entertainment ' s first concert held outside of Asia . The September 4 , 2010 sold out show was a part of the company ' s SMTown Live ' 10 World Tour . Performers for the sold out show included BoA , Kangta , TVXQ , TRAX , Dana & Sunday : The Grace , Super Junior , Girls ' Generation , SHINee , and f ( x ) . The event also marked the first time a Korean performer performed at the arena . On January 22 , 2006 , Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant scored a career - high 81 points in the Staples Center against the Toronto Raptors , the second - highest number of points scored in a single game in NBA history , second only to # redirect ' s . Of the team ' s five NBA championships since moving to the venue , the Lakers have celebrated their and victories at Staples Center with series - winning victories at home . Prior to the 2006 - 07 NBA season , the lighting inside Staples Center was modified for Lakers games . The lights were focused only on the court itself ( hence the promotional " Lights Out " campaign ) , reminiscent of the Lakers ' early years at The Forum . Initial fan reaction was positive , and has been a fixture on home games since . The Daktronics see - through shot - clock was first installed prior to the 2008 - 09 NBA season . The Clippers adopted the new see through shot clock prior to the 2010 - 11 NBA season . For Sparks games , the court used is named after Sparks legend Lisa Leslie , and was officially named prior to the 2009 home opener against the Shock on June 6 , 2009 . On October 21 , 2009 , Staples Center celebrated its 10th anniversary . To commemorate the occasion , the venue ' s official website nominated 25 of the arena ' s greatest moments from its first ten years with fans voting on the top ten . During the late summer of 2010 , modifications were made to the arena , including refurbished locker rooms for the Clippers , Kings , and Lakers and the installation of a new high - definition center - hung video scoreboard , replacing the original one that had been in place since the building opened in 1999 . The Panasonic Live 4HD scoreboard was officially unveiled on September 22 , as AEG and Staples Center executives , as well as player representatives from the Clippers ( Craig Smith ) , Kings ( Matt Greene ) , and Lakers ( Sasha Vujacic ) were on hand for the presentation . During the Spring of 2012 , NHL ' s Kings , along with NBA ' s Lakers and Clippers reached the postseason making it the first time the arena would host three playoff teams . The Kings would go on to win the Stanley Cup at Staples Center after beating the New Jersey Devils in six games , becoming the first NHL team since 2007 to win the Stanley Cup at home . The Lakers unveiled a new hardwood court before their preseason game on October 13 , 2012 . Taking a cue from soccer clubs , the primary center court logo was adorned with 16 stars , representing the 16 championships the Lakers franchise has won . In 2013 , the Staples Center menu put it at the top of PETA ' s list of vegetarian - friendly NBA venues . L . A . Live . Staples Center is only a part of a much larger development by Anschutz Entertainment Group ( AEG ) adjoining Staples Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center . The development , known as L . A . Live , broke ground on September 15 , 2005 . L . A . Live is designed to offer entertainment , retail and residential programming in the downtown Los Angeles area .