After 22 years as the Staples Center, one of the most iconic venues in sports is getting a new name that’s undeniably a sign of the times.

As part of a 20-year deal worth a reported $700 million, Crypto.com will take over naming rights to the venue starting Dec. 25, when the Los Angeles Lakers host the Brooklyn Nets for the NBA’s annual Christmas showcase.

Staples Center is also home to the league’s Clippers, the WNBA’s Sparks, and the NHL’s Kings. The Clippers are moving to the recently announced Intuit Dome in the city’s Inglewood neighborhood in 2024. Intuit reportedly paid north of $500 million for naming rights to that venue over 23 years.

AEG — which owns the Kings and MLS’ L.A. Galaxy in addition to producing events like Coachella — owns and operates Staples Center. The company quietly bought back naming rights from the office supplies retailer in 2019.

Crypto.com has been incredibly active in the sports world this year.

• It announced a five-year, $100 million global partnership with Formula 1 in June.
• It signed a 10-year, $175 million branding deal with UFC in July.
• It secured a multiyear partnership with Serie A in August.

The Singapore-based crypto exchange isn’t alone in its pursuits. A competitor, FTX, agreed to a 19-year, $135 million naming rights deal for the Miami Heat’s arena in March.

Fenway Sports Group is reportedly in talks to buy the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins.

FSG is the holding company that owns the Boston Red Sox.

Former Penguins star Mario Lemieux and investor Ron Burkle purchased the team out of bankruptcy in 1999 for $107 million, and Forbes valued the franchise at $650 million last December.

The five-time Stanley Cup winners would be another addition to Fenway’s impressive roster.

• FSG bought the Red Sox in 2002 for $700 million — the team was last valued at $3.47 billion.
• In 2007, it bought 50% of NASCAR’s Roush Racing team, which rebranded to RFK Racing on Tuesday after Brad Keselowski became a minority owner and driver for the team.
• The group purchased Liverpool FC in 2010 for $440 million. The club was valued at $4.1 billion in April 2021.

RedBird Capital Partners entered an agreement with FSG earlier this year to invest $750 million at a valuation of roughly $7.35 billion, coinciding with Lebron James’ investment in the group.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Penguins deal could be finalized later this week. Terms of a potential transaction have not been disclosed, but multiple reports suggest Lemieux would remain a minority owner.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has already turned his displeasure with Apple into a prolonged legal battle. On Tuesday, he laid out a radically different vision for how people should be able to buy apps and games.

“What the world really needs now is a single store that works with all platforms,” Sweeney said. Epic is coordinating with various developers to build a system that would enable users “to buy software in one place, knowing that they’d have it on all devices and all platforms.”

“Right now, software ownership is fragmented between the iOS App Store, the Android Google Play marketplace, different stores on Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch, and then Microsoft Store and the Mac App Store,” he said.

• Epic has worked to avoid Google’s and Apple’s developer fees for apps and in-app purchases, allowing users to download the game directly from its website or through Samsung’s Galaxy Store.
• Google became concerned that developers would follow Epic’s lead and launched a task force to address the issue.
• The tech giant estimated that developers leaving its Play Store could cost it $6 billion by 2022.

Epic was valued at $28.7 billion after a $1 billion funding round in April. Epic’s own game store earned $401 million in revenue last year.

Accordia Golf, which operates around 170 golf courses in Japan, is being acquired by SoftBank’s Fortress Investment Group in a $3.5 billion deal, three months after initial reports that owner MBK Partners was looking to sell.

The SoftBank-affiliated investment fund owns hotels in Japan and intends to raise its corporate value by funneling some of those customers to the country’s biggest golf course chain.

• Accordia is expected to purchase additional driving ranges and golf courses after deal-close. The company already accounts for 12% of Japan’s golf market.
• Fortress is expected to go through an initial public offering or sell equity in the coming years to “recoup its investment.”

SoftBank acquired Fortress in 2017 for $3.3 billion, but reports earlier this month suggested SoftBank may now be interested in selling the group. Softbank’s second-quarter earnings report last week saw net assets fall $54 billion to roughly $184 billion.

As of June 30, Fortress had $53.9 billion in assets under management. KKR, Blackstone, Kakao, and Naver Line have been listed as potential buyers.