Residents of Los Angeles, sports fans and social media personalities are making calorie-free of Crypto.com'due south plans to rename the urban center'due south Staples Center for its ain marketing purposes.

The Staples Eye, a multi-purpose arena that has been home to the Los Angeles Clippers, Lakers and other major sports franchises for years, is scheduled to be renamed every bit the Crypto.com Arena starting on Dec. 25. This follows a $700 million agreement wherein the platform holds the naming rights for 20 years. All the same, since its opening in 1999, the venue has always been called the Staples Center, and fans don't seem to want Crypto.com or observers to forget this fact when the handover occurs.

"It will always be known equally the Staples Center, no matter how many hundreds of millions of dollars Crypto.com paid for the naming rights," said USA Today reporter Bryan Kalbrosky, who also called it "bonkers" to refer to the arena by its new name:

"Nothing means anything until we decide that it means something. This place is only going to be known as Crypto Dot Com Loonshit (it really doesn't roll off the natural language, my goodness) if people buy in and agree to telephone call it that."

Even some of the professional sports players currently using the venue take reportedly said they will continue to be calling it past its original proper name. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Clippers guard Reggie Jackson said he "can't see" the loonshit as anything other than Staples, an stance echoed by teammate Paul George:

Many cities around the world take colloquial names for streets, parks and buildings that have long since been changed to honour historical figures or reflect sponsors. In Chicago, many residents still refer to the Willis Belfry skyscraper every bit the Sears Belfry, though it was renamed in 2009 and the department store has airtight many of its once-ubiquitous branches. Lady Bird Lake in Austin is still known by many every bit Town Lake, though it was inverse in 2007 to honor the former Offset Lady.

Related: FTX set to secure naming rights to Miami NBA stadium until 2040

As information technology grows, Crypto.com has been inking deals for reasons of brand recognition and more than. In July, the company also signed a $175-meg sponsorship agreement with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Actor Matt Damon recently appeared in ads released around the world promoting the platform likewise.