Lakers: Crypto.com Arena and the 5 goofiest venue names in sports

It was announced on Tuesday that the home of the Los Angeles Lakers, the Staples Center, would be renamed the Crypo.com Arena starting on December 25. It certainly is an interesting change as it is happening midseason and is going from an iconic name to one that doesn’t quite roll off the tongue.

I will tell you this much, the vast majority of Laker fans will continue to call it the Staples Center. There is a movement to call it The Crypt, which actually sounds pretty sweet and is definitely better than the full name.

Crypto.com Arena is not the only quirky arena/stadium name in the United States as some of these stadiums get creative with their names, or simply have sponsors that don’t roll off the tongue next to the word arena/stadium/field.

No offense to any of these venue names or the teams that play in them, but the Crypto.com Arena name change inspired us to dive into the five goofiest venue names in American sports.

5. Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle Kraken

Look, I am all for pledging to help the environment for the generations that come before us and this arena name is meant to raise awareness. Jeff Bezos is so rich that he decided to buy the rights to name an arena to bring awareness to a cause. That’s pretty sweet.

That being said, I am not sure how many sports fans hear “welcome to the Climate Pledge Arena” on an ESPN broadcast of a Seattle Kraken game and think “man, did I litter the other day?”. 

It is a great cause and the intent is there, it just is a bit goofy when it stands out next to all the corporate sponsors, but for the right reason.

4. Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago White Sox

Chicago White Sox fans definitely feel what Lakers fans are feeling right now. Guaranteed Rate Field has undergone two name changes and most diehard fans still call it by its original name, Comiskey Park.

It was first renamed to U.S. Cellular Field, which is what I grew up with and have known the stadium. Heck, the White Sox won a World Series while it was named U.S. Cellular.

The Guaranteed Rate came along in 2016 and purchased the naming rights from U.S. Cellular and I still chuckle to this day every time I hear someone call it Guaranteed Rate Field. Guaranteed Rate is just such a weird corporate name to stick onto a baseball stadium and it definitely sticks out among its MLB peers.

3. Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles Lakers

Look, cryptocurrencies are the way of the future and the Los Angeles Lakers are hopping on that trend with the name change to Crypto.com Arena. That being said, the thing I cannot get over about this arena name is the fact that it has .com in the name.

It is only the second major arena/stadium to have .com in the name, with the first (we will get to that here in a second) opening earlier this year in 2021.

MORE: 5 greatest Lakers moments in the Staples Center

How long until we get https in the arena names? Look, I don’t think I have the budget for this but I would love to have a https://www.lakeshowlife.com Arena in the future.

2. Lower.com Field, Columbus Crew

The Columbus Crew opened their new stadium, Lower.com Field, in 2021 and it became the true trailblazer of the .com venue names. Heck, in a decade’s time maybe half of the arenas will have .com in their naming rights.

It gets ranked ahead of Crypto.com Arena for two reasons. First, it was the first to fully dive into the .com name, so it has to get points for originality. Second is the fact that they didn’t need to have .com in the name! 

At least with Crypto.com it makes sense to put .com because crypto has become a blanket term and it would be confusing. Lower is a company that helps with mortgage refinancing and all that jazz. Why not just make it Lower Mortgage Field? You have the phrase “Lower Mortgage” on your website!

1. Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Los Angeles Angels

I have a lot of Angel fans in my life and they might be upset by this but this has to be the goofiest and most absurd stadium name in sports. The Angels, located in Anaheim in Orange County, have tried for so long to get the best of both worlds of not being in LA (let alone LA county) but getting the LA market.

They ditched the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim moniker and instead shifted the “of Anaheim” title to their stadium. Yes, the Los Angeles Angels play at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. 

Make it make sense. Just sell the naming rights to Disney and they can all it Pirates of a Caribbean Field and it would be better.