Things to do / Travel Guide
Address:1111 S. Figueroa St.
Los Angeles, California
Our Sports Superfan Says:
A Los Angeles icon, the Staples Center hosts a massive multipurpose sports complex and is home to five professional sports teams: the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, the NHL's Los Angeles Kings, the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks, and the AFL's Los Angeles Avengers. Almost four million people pass through the Staples Center every year, and the complex hosts an event on an average of five days a week. The Staples Center has also been host to the Latin Grammy Awards, the Summer X Games, HBO Championship Boxing matches, and concerts by top performers.
Dedicated sports fans will find excitement all year round at Staples Center, especially with the Phil Jackson led Los Angeles Lakers with top stars Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'neal, winning three straight championships here. There is no weak position when it comes to the Los Angeles Lakers. The LA Clippers, while not performing nearly so well, have nonetheless managed some respectable accomplishments since 2005. The women basketball players of the Los Angeles Sparks led their team to championship seasons here in 2001 and 2002. In hockey, the Los Angeles Kings have a large local following despite California not being what one might traditionally associate with a winter sport. As far as the Avengers, they play "arena football" in the Arena Football League. This is a modified version of football, played on a smaller field, with fewer players, after the football season has ended and is relative obscure and hence free from excessive media coverage.
Getting to the Staples Center is easy and convenient. It's located just off the junction of I-10 and I-110 between Huntington Park and Glendale. By public transportation, Metro Rail's Pico Station is only a block away. Have fun and don't forget to pose for a picture in front of the statues of LA sports legends Magic Johnson and Wayne Gretzky.