Staple Center..Nope, Now Crypto.com Arena

And just like that its no more, well the arena is still but the Staple Center will become the Crypto.com Arena on Christmas Day. Crypto.com just paid $700 Million to become the name of the home to the Lakers, Sparks, Kings, and what will be short lived, Clippers (who moving to the Intuit Dome 2024), which may be the richest naming rights deal in sports history.

Crypto.com apparently has been on a shopping spree across the global sports landscape over the past year. Crypto.com is a cryptocurrency platform and exchange headquartered in Singapore. Founded in 2016, The platform has inked high-visibility sponsorship deals with Formula One, the UFC, Italy’s Serie A, Paris St-Germain and the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, while also purchasing the Philadelphia 76ers‘ uniform sponsorship patch.

ESPN: Staples Center to become Crypto.com Arena in reported $700 million naming rights deal

Los Angeles Urban League Celebrates 100yrs of Service

CENTENNIAL NIGHTS

Los Angeles Urban League turned 100 years old this year and they are celebrating in a monumental way.

For 100 years Los Angeles Urban League has served as a powerful advocate for African-Americans and other minorities by ensuring our communities have access to careers with living wages, opportunities to start and grow businesses, and clear pathways to personal and professional growth.

Los Angeles Urban League helps African Americans and others in underserved communities achieve their highest true social parity, economic self- reliance, power, and civil rights. The League promotes economic empowerment through education and job training, housing and community development, workforce development, entrepreneurship, health, and quality of life.

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Celebrate 100 years of service with the Los Angeles Urban League. Join us for a memorable evening under the stars at one of Hollywood’s most iconic landmarks. Entertainment will be provided by the star of the Emmy Award Winning Mini-Series The Temptations and two-time NAACP Award nominee Terron Brooks. Stay tuned for more information.

WHEN:

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21
7:00 – 10:00PM

VIP Reception, Red Carpet & Press Arrivals
6:00 – 7:00PM

WHERE: 

THE HOLLYWOOD ROOSEVELT ROOFTOP
7000 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028

RSVP

Wine Down Wednesday

Check out Wine Down Wednesday, Windsor Hills own night of fun, comedy, and wine.  The show was moved from the Hollywood area to Windsor Hills because of a desire to bring local “go to” premier  entertainment spot to our area without all of the hassle that comes with going to Hollywood.

This week’s show is hosted by Kalea McNeill and features London Brown (Fat Reggie in HBO’s Ballers), Tacarra Williams (Kevin Hart’s Next Level), and more! We create a vibe, complimentary wine is provided (early arrival suggested). Personal Chef, “Color Me Creole” will be preparing her famous Cinnamon Fried Chicken with Red Beans & Rice. Vegan options available as well. Music will be provided by DJ Young Free of the Dru League.

Wine Down Wednesday is located at Cultural Interiors, a boutique in the Slauson Overhill area where you can find gifts, artifacts, and art from ancient African, Indian, and Asian cultures.  Feel free to explore while you enjoy the show!

4421 W. Slauson Ave

8:00 Doors Open

8:30 Showtime

$5 presale, tix avail instore or online at winedownw.eventbrite.com

$10 at the door

LA Rams And Chargers Stadium Taking Shape

The LA Rams and Chargers Stadium are beginning to take shape.  The 70,240-seat arena will be the first indoor/outdoor stadium to be built, a clear roof above but open on all sides, no walls, so guest will enjoy the feeling of being outside yet protected from the elements.  The $2.6 billion stadium will be the largest stadium ever built at 3.1 million square feet.  The stadium is actually a giant whole in the ground; the base of the stadium is a 100ft in the ground rather than the normal max of 30ft due to the proximity to LAX.  The LA Stadium will have the largest video screen at 120 yards (dubbed Oculus) just about the same size of the football field it will be hovering directly above.  The LA Stadium will be opening in 2020 and is planned to host the Super Bowl LVI, 2023 College Football National Championship, and the 2028 Summer Olympic Games.

Construction

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Renderings

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Live Construction Cam

Stadium Construction

Oculus 

LA Rams Stadium Beginning To Take Shape 

Inglewood Stadium Video 

 

 

Carson Stadium Moving Forward

Carson’s City Council recently approved the two NFL team stadium that is to be built at the intersection of the 405 and 110 freeway, making the stadium on step closer becoming tangible.  The two-team football venue intended to house the Chargers and the Raiders is sporting new looks as well that includes a more airy, open layout and a tower over 100 feet tall that, on occasion, will shoot lightning bolts.  The updated plans show that the oval-shaped, roofless stadium will have a “contiguous exterior” with a large opening at its base. The seating would be arranged in a U around that gap, which the architects believe will “help surround the field with noise.” Seating colors are still being decided, but it’s possible that they’ll be clear so they can “reflect the color of lights shining on them.”  The most exciting feature of the updated Carson design is obviously its 115 to120-foot-tall tower, which will be encased in glass, topped with a cauldron, and transformed depending on which team is playing. When the Chargers are on the field, lightning bolts will zap around inside the tower’s glass enclosure. When the Chargers score a touchdown, lightning will shoot out of the top of the tower. When the Raiders are having a home game, the plan is for the cauldron to fill with fire, like the Olympic flame

Carson Greenlights Stadium

New Stadium Design

The latest renderings for the joint football venue come from Manica Architecture. Their version of the stadium is intended to recall the LA Coliseum, but was also inspired by the fluid movement of sports cars (that rendering with a Porsche in the foreground really drives this connection home).

The most exciting feature of the updated Carson design is obviously its 115 to120-foot-tall tower, which will be encased in glass, topped with a cauldron, and transformed depending on which team is playing. When the Chargers are on the field, lightning bolts will zap around inside the tower’s glass enclosure. When the Chargers score a touchdown, lightning will shoot out of the top of the tower. When the Raiders are having a home game, the plan is for the cauldron to fill with fire, like the Olympic flame, as a nod to the late Raiders owner/manager Al Davis. (Unfortunately, “The plan would not call for the flame toburst up from the tower in the event of a Raiders touchdown,” which just seems unfair.) If the Carson stadium ever hosted a Super Bowl, the plan is to turn the tower into an enormous Lombardi Trophy.

Vermont Entertainment Center Development – South LA

Councilmen Bernard Parks announced and hosted a ground breaking this week for a massive entertainment development at Vermont Ave and Manchester Ave.  From the renderings it seems to be a promenade type shopping/entertainment center.  Hopefully this will be a catalysts for the development in the area.  This area was impacted hard from the riots  in the early 90’s and has remained a blighted area ever since so seeing this development be initiated definitely brings hope for the area.  The project is being lead by Councilmember Bernard C. Parks and Sassony Properties.  The development is slated for completion winter of 2016.

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VEC – Vermont Entertainment Center

Radiers and Chargers Propose Stadium In Carson

So this is all over the internet but I still decided to cover it, so the Raiders and Chargers are supposed to be teaming up to build a $1.7 billion stadium in Carson near the 110 and 405 Freeway interchange. I personally believe this is a last ditch effort for both teams to get new stadiums in there current markets, playing the whole “if you don’t build us a new stadium we’re moving to LA.”  The teams are working with “Carson2gether,” a group of businesses and labor leaders. The coalition announced the project today at a news conference near the 168-acre site, a parcel at the southwest quadrant of the intersection of the 405 Freeway and Del Amo Boulevard.  No shade Carson, but I still support the stadium in Inglewood but lets see how this pencils out.

Raiders and Chargers coming to LA

Carson2gether

Up Close & Personal With Hill Harper At Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza

Baldwin Hills Crenshaw will also host public interview with this year’s PAFF Celebrity Ambassador, Hill Harper. Known for his roles in CSI: New York, Covert Affairs and in the recent feature film The Boy Next Door alongside Jennifer Lopez, Hill is also a New York Times bestselling author and has been appointed by President Obama to serve on several advocacy committees. Harper will discuss highlights from his writing career, including Letters to a Young Brother and Letters to a Young Sister, and will offer insights to young people in the community about political advocacy and the importance of developing healthy personal finance habits. The interview will take place on February 19^th at 7:00pm in BHC Center Court.

The Pan African Film And Art Festival Is Still Going On

THE 23^RD ANNUAL PAN AFRICAN FILM AND ART FESTIVAL

Celebrating the achievements of African filmmakers and artists from around the world, the Pan African Film and Art Festival (PAFF) will continue through February 16^th, and is expected to draw more than 35,000 people to the Crenshaw district. The twelve-day event began its history at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw in 1996 when it hosted the festival as part of its Celebration of African American Heritage Event. This year, the festival will include screenings of over 125 films at the RAVE Cinemas and several community forums, as well as an African arts and crafts festival featuring the work of more than 100 artisans, including jewelry, fashion, fine art, artifacts and quilts. As part of the festival, more than 6,000 students from across Los Angeles County and their teachers will participate in the annual StudentFest, engaging in discussions about the intersection of film and important societal issues, such as literacy, racial respect and gang prevention.

This year’s featured films will include the West Coast premiere of the documentary The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution on opening night; the world premiere of the Ethiopian film Triangle- Going to America; and the world premiere of The Man in 3B on the festival’s closing night. These highly-anticipated films will be followed by red-carpet receptions on the BHC Bridge, 2^nd floor. A detailed listing of all screenings and events is available at www.paff.org, where tickets are also available for purchase.

Inglewood Football Stadium Gaining Momentum

I know we’ve been dazzled before with NFL talk [**cough**Farmers Field**cough**City of Industry**cough**Carson] however this Stadium in Inglewood may be really coming and the efforts from Stockbridge and the Owner of the St. Louie Rams are gaining more traction than I’ve seen from any of the other Stadium ideas (mainly because there’s an actual football team involved in the plans rather than just billionaire boy developers dreaming up ideas) So for some reason if you haven’t heard, the Hollywood Park Racetrack is being torn down and recreated into Hollywood Park Tomorrow.  The developer of this currently under construction mega-project has partnered with the owner of the Rams to build a 80, 000-seat NFL Stadium and a 6,000-seat Entertainment Venue adjacent to the stadium.  Now whats making this different than the other NFL Stadium ideas, beside the involvement of an actual football team, is that Stan Kroenke (the owner of the Rams) and Stockbridge are going to sidestep the usual pre-development process, which involves a lengthy environmental report, by putting the Stadium development on the Inglewood ballot.  The issue lies in the zoning changes necessary that’ll make it legal to build a stadium on the site.  If the planned stadium goes to a vote, Inglewood residents could be hitting the polls as soon as June to decide the stadium’s fate.  There are also regulations on building tall buildings near the airport, therefore the developers plans to sink the stadium 100 feet into the ground, making it low enough to avoid the FAA study.  The developers seem to have the communities support by collecting 20,000 signatures when only 8,400 were necessary.  So all in all guys we might actually be getting a football team……FINALLY!

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Curbed LA has the scoop on Inglewoods Stadium

HPT Gallery

Inglewood Putting Stadium on the Ballot

Senator Isadore Hall III on the Inglewoods Potential Stadium

Inglewood Stadium Developers Moving Along