In its 25-year history in Los Angeles, Crypto.com Arena has experienced many milestones, including a name change from the Staples Center to the latter in December 2021.
It first opened on Oct. 17, 1999, with a performance featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and became the home of three sports franchises—the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers, who’ve won six NBA Championships; the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, who’ve brought home three WNBA Championships and the NHL’s LA Kings, who hold two Stanley Cup titles.
Crypto.com Arena has also hosted record-breaking concerts and tours, such as pop star Taylor Swift’s sell-out 16 consecutive shows; globally televised memorials including the late Kobe Bryant, who is commemorated with statues around the building; and the Grammy Awards, which it will host in 2025 for the 22nd time.
With the completion of phase three of the arena’s nine-figure, multi-million-dollar renovation project, visitors can soon expect some new additions. The third-phase project revamped premium spaces such as the Yaamava’ Club and The Lexus Club for premium ticket holders. Premium glass and courtside seat ticket holders can now access the exclusive Delta SKY360° Club, formerly known as the Chairman’s Club, which offers food and drinks.
If you’re not a premium ticket holder, don’t fret. There are still plenty of great things to enjoy, including new restaurant concepts and bar and lounge areas. In addition to the renovations and new spaces, the venue now offers VIP tours open to the public, which take visitors behind the scenes of the spaces only previously seen by performers and sports stars.
Whether guests are sports fans or want to catch the latest act topping the music charts and festival scenes, Crypto.com Arena is investing big to make it worthwhile for its visitors. Here are some new restaurant concepts, renovations, and offerings for the arena.
Frito-Lay Chef Wiley Bates talks about the offerings at the new Doritos After Dark restaurant in Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Doritos After Dark
The 4,650-square-foot Doritos After Dark restaurant is the first and only Doritos restaurant of its kind. It first launched as a pop-up in Los Angeles and New York in 2022. Doritos After Dark is fully equipped with a bar, kitchen and indoor dining seats. The walls are black and lit with neon triangles resembling the Doritos chips, offering a fun modern atmosphere.
The menu, curated by Wiley E. Bates III, executive research chef at Frito-Lay, is loaded with delicious Dorito-flavored dishes, from appetizers like the Doritos Flamin’ Hot Veggie Dumplings to entrées like the Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili Ramen-Rito. Don’t forget to try the Dorito Nacho Cheese Vanilla Cone for an ice cream dessert. The cocktail selections are also spicy, literally. The bar offers a Doritos Flamin’ Hot Limon Mango Chamoyada, a Doritos Flamin’ Hot Limon Late Night Rita, and a Doritos Nacho Cheese Michelada for those opposed to the hot chip.
Other items served at the restaurant include Dorito-infused sushi rolls and Nacho Cheese Texas-Style Nachos, topped with BBQ burnt ends and pickles. Bates said there are plans for more items to be rolled out on the menu, which could be seasonal. He added that fan-favorite Dorito flavors and Los Angeles’ food scene were significant inspirations.
“One thing that excited us about opening Doritos After Dark at Crypto.com Arena was the city’s food scene,” he said. “One of our fallbacks was thinking about what’s happening in food trucks out here and all the different creations of how to serve food like nachos in 100 different ways. That led to this evolution of thinking about this around a table to opening the doors to have people try the food.”
The restaurant is only open to visitors during ticketed events, but it will step out of the arena on Friday, Nov. 15, for a free one-night-only Doritos Night Market pop-up at Peacock Place from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Fuku by Chef David Chang is a new hot chicken restaurant housed on the indoor/outdoor City View Terrace at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
fuku
Celebrity chef David Chang’s spicy fried chicken concept is housed on Crypto.com Arena’s City View Terrace, the new indoor-outdoor space on the Upper Concourse available to ticket holders. The rooftop area serves cocktails and views of Downtown Los Angeles and L.A. Live. Fuku was established as a spin-off of Chang’s Momofuku Noodle Bar, which once served spicy chicken sandwiches as a secret menu item at its New York City restaurant. The menu offers the OG Sando, a Sweet + Spicy Sando, Tenders, Sweet + Spicy Tenders and Waffle Fries, with fuku mayo (the eatery’s take on kimchi mayo), ranch and honey mustard sauces.
Lately, the restaurant scene has been saturated with plenty of elevated fried chicken eateries, but this one has an edge. The chicken is habanero-brined and may bring a tear to your eye if you’re not ready. Pair the spiciness with a sweet glaze, and your taste buds will be in for a treat.
“Our chicken is spicy, delicious and crispy and really resonates with everyone,” said Denise Ozturk, venue operations manager of fuku. “We’ve been in event, concession and brick-and-mortar spaces since we started, but it’s very special to be a part of Crypto.com Arena’s 25th anniversary.”
Ludobab and Trios Familia by French chef Ludo Lefebvre are part of the new food and beverage programming offered at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Ludobab and Trios Familia
French chef Ludo Lefebvre’s Ludobird concession stand has been serving his take on fried chicken on the venue’s Main Concourse since 2013, but now he’s adding two new stands. Ludobab will offer Mediterranean fares such as kabobs, pita sandwiches, bowls, salads, a grilled pita burger, falafel, warm pita, and hummus. All served with house-made sauces.
Trios Familia is perhaps where Lefebvre’s innovative culinary skills shine most. The restaurant blends French and Mexican flavors to produce some tasty combinations, such as the double-decker-style potato taco served between two tortillas, with a mashed potato filling made with butter and topped with shaved carrots, pico de gallo and lime. The tres leches cake is a soft treat combining the best Mexican bakery flavor with a classic French cake.
“I draw the inspiration for these dishes from the culture of Los Angeles,” Lefebvre said. “They’re mi familia.”
Fresh Brothers is the new pizzeria at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Upgraded Concessions
The concession stands have also been upgraded, including Fresh Brothers, a pizza stand replacing Blaze Pizza at section 109. Menu specialties include deep dish cheese, pepperoni, BBQ chicken and their “Fresh Momma’s” veggie pie. Pizzas will also be available at the new Amazon Walk Out market located at section 301 in the upper concourse dubbed South Park Market. The other Amazon Walk Out store is located at section 118 on the main concourse, called LA Cooler Market. Both these markets ask visitors to insert their credit card before entering the store and then charge them for the items they leave with for an efficient check-out of snacks, tall can beers, and other soft drinks.
The r.Cup is part of a new sustainability program at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. (Photo courtesy of Crypto.com Arena)
Sustainability
The arena has a new waste reduction program aimed at reducing single-use plastic consumption through a partnership with r.World. In September, the venue became the first arena in Southern California to introduce a full-time reusable cup program, teaming up with their partner Levy to replace all single-use plastic cups in its food and beverage destinations with reusable r.Cups.
The cup is made of a number five polyproline plastic similar to the ones used for souvenir cups. Guests at the arena are asked to throw their cups in a yellow specialty r.Cup bin found next to the blue recyclable bins and the black trash bins throughout the venue. Used cups are taken to a wash hub, where they are sanitized with grade-restaurant equipment and then returned for future events.
Nelson Ventures, sustainability program manager at AEG, said the r.Cups are part of a broader set of initiatives that champion sustainability, including waterless urinals, solar energy, and LED lights, which are used in place of halogen ones.
“It helps us reduce our impact because we’re not sending any of those cups into the landfill,” Ventures said. “They can be used up to 300 times before their end of life, and when they’re disposed of, the material could be donated to be upcycled into new products. The idea is to dispose of it like you would any cup. The fan behavior doesn’t change, but what does is the way we treat our environment.”
Danielle Snyder, Senior Vice President of Arena Services, gives a tour of upgrades including a peak of the Delta SKY360° Club at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
VIP Tours
The new VIP Tours offer the general public a guided experience that touches on the arena’s milestones over its 25 years of history. The 90-minute Arena Tour includes insider stories and fun facts, providing visitors insight into the latest renovations and upgrades, including exclusive spaces like the private Lexus Club and Yaamava’ Club by San Manuel suites. Other areas on the tour include artist dressing rooms, Event Level access, visits to the Tunnel Suites, Delta Sky 360 Club, and the Locker Room Hallway.
The 60-minute Game Day Tour is a shorter version of the Arena Tour. The most significant difference is that guests cannot access the Event Level or the Locker Room Hallway. Each tour will give guests a unique souvenir credential and lanyard. Tickets for the tours can be purchased at cryptoarena.com beginning Friday, Nov. 1.
The Team LA store at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Team LA Store
The Team LA Store was remodeled over the summer and now includes a New Era Hat Wall, Pro Standard Shop in Shop, and Mitchell & Ness Shop in Shop. This season, they will launch self-checkout lines using RFID technology, where shoppers can load a bag full of merchandise and place it on a pad that calculates their totals. Fans will also have the option to shop at two brand-new walk-in merchandise stands on the main concourse to pick up all their favorite team or artist merchandise at events.
The center-hung scoreboard from Daktronics is on display during the LA Kings match against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, Oct. 24, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. (Photo courtesy of Crypto.com Arena)
Center-Hung Scoreboard
The arena installed a new center-hung scoreboard from Daktronics on Aug. 14 that is a six-display, 5,500-square-foot configuration featuring 41.7 million pixels that hangs above the action of Los Angeles Lakers, LA Kings and Los Angeles Sparks games, concerts, and other live events. The upgraded scoreboard will also add to the digital experience, including end wall and ribbon displays provided by Daktronics in 2022.
The main video display is a continuous canvas wrapping around the center-hung structure and features 3.9-millimeter pixel spacing. It measures approximately 27 feet high by 170.5 feet in circumference and can show multiple zones of digital content, including live video feeds, instant replays, statistics, game information, graphics, animations, and sponsorship messages.
The bottom display, which sits below the main display on the center-hung structure, faces the floor below. It measures 18 feet high by 18 feet wide and features a 2.5-millimeter pixel spacing. Four underbelly displays are fitted along each side of the bottom display and face the sides and ends of the arena. Each display measures 14 feet high by 16.5 feet wide and features 2.5-millimeter pixel spacing. The screens can show supplemental content to the main display while providing content to those sitting closer to the floor.
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