Tips for Having a Great Time at a Staples Center Sporting Event - LA Date Ideas (2024)

Home of the Lakers, Clippers, and Kings, and host to concerts and other events, the Crypto.com Arena (formerly the Staples Center) is a prime attraction in downtown Los Angeles in spite of its terrible new name. Here are my tips to make your visit fun and hassle-free.

1. Bring a good jacket for Kings games

If you go for a Kings game, the stadium will be pretty cold. Bring a good jacket or sweater! I am not kidding. Many people wear hats as well, probably more for the look though.

Because it was cold, we got hot tea. We were able to get free refills of hot water at the concession stand, so it was like having unlimited refills of hot tea.

2. Don’t bring a big camera or big bag

Don’t do what I did – I brought a digital SLR camera to take photos for this blog. They stopped me at the door and said I was not allowedto bring in a camera witha zoom lens. BUT, they were super nice about it and escorted me to Guest Services, where I could have them hold it for me. They were so friendly about it that I didn’t mind the hassle.

Also note that any bags larger than 14 inches x 14 inches are prohibited, and you will go through metal detectors.

3. Consider taking public transportation

I’ve driven to the Staples Center from the West Side many times in rush-hour traffic and it’s just awful. Therefore, my first suggestion for you is to take the LA Metro Rail train to get there if possible. “What?? Take public transportation??”, you ask. Yes, I know this is L.A. and we love driving, but I tried the Metro the last time I went and it was wonderful! We drove to the Culver City station, hopped on the Metro, and arrived downtown in about forty minutes. The entrance to Staples Center was just over a block away from the last stop. It was great!

Cost was $1 for the TAP card (one-time cost), and $1.75 each way. Parking that night at the Kings game was $20. It’s even more for Lakers games and concerts. You can drive around and find cheaper parking, but you’ll be walking even more, and I guarantee you won’t match the $4.50 round trip cost of the Metro, even for two people.

For events that are not during rush hour, I might consider driving. But, most of the games are right after work, during the worst possible time to be driving. Even if you’ve never taken public transportation before, consider it for the Staples Center. It’s way better than driving!

Just make sure you check the train schedule if you plan to stay late. As of this writing, the last Expo line train leaves at 12:30AM on most nights, with service until 2:10AM on Friday night/Saturday evening.

4. Know the other food options

While the food options inside Staples Center are pretty darn good by sports stadium standards, you could dine at one of the restaurants atLA Liveif you have the time. There are some high-end options such as Katsuya and Flemings. Be sure to make reservations.

If you’re a foodie, then Broken Spanish is “by far the best place to eat near Staples Center”, according to acclaimed food critic Jonathan Gold (RIP).

For more food options that are close to, but not in, the Staples Center, check out this article: 10 Places to Eat and Drink Near the Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles.

If you want a quiet drink in a nice atmosphere, I’d recommend heading just across the street to one of the bars at Hotel Figueroa.

5.Know your food options inside

If you don’t have time to have dinner beforehand,Staples Center has better food options than most other sports venues that I am used to (i.e., Dodgers’ Stadium or the dreadful food at Sofi Stadium). Inside, you’ll find McDonald’s, California Pizza Kitchen, and other slightly better-than-hot-dog vendors, in the main concourse, which has a food-court type of feel. There are also food vendors in the upper level.

We had chicken sandwiches at Ludo Bird in the lower level. It was good, but expensive for what it was. The chicken sandwiches were $11.50 and sides were $3.50 each, with a buttermilk biscuit for $5! Dinner for two can easily run over $50. Also, it was far from healthful. Everything had lots of fat and salt. My potato salad was drenched in mayo. But hey, it tasted good!

Only later did I discover a Smokehouse BBQ outside in the smoking area on the top floor. I didn’t get to try it but it seemed like it could be a better option if you don’t mind the cigarette smokers up there.

Here’s a complete list of food and drink options at Staples.

But, as I said, all of the concessions inside of the Staples Center are expensive for what they are. A draft beer might run you $10-$12. California Pizza Kitchen is probably one of the better values inside.

6. Check out the pre-game warm up

We got there a bit early and were able to watch the L.A. Kings warm up. My date enjoyed that part because the ushers let us into the lower leveland we could see the players without their helmets skating around and stretching. It might be worth checking this out if you’ve never been to a game before.

7. Don’t worry if you have “bad seats”

For our Kings game, we had nosebleed seats, for rows from the very back, but the view was still much better than TV. We were quite satisfied, even that far up!

More important than getting close to the action is getting a good angle. We were right at mid-ice, which was ideal. Being behind one of the goals might not have been as good.

So, spend your money on getting a good angle and don’t worry as much about how high up you are. The seats are very steeply tiered, so the people in front of you won’t block the action.

8. Stretch your legs

Unfortunately,there is very little legroom at Staples Center in the cheap seats (at least in the nosebleed section). You have to stand up every time someone wants to pass, not to mention that your legs get stiff from being so confined. Honestly, I don’t know how people who are over six feet tall can sit in these seats for long periods of time. If you or your date are super tall, you might want to consider a more expensive section with more legroom.

In the middle of the game, we actually took a walk around the stadium perimeter walkway on the top level. We did three laps in fact! We guessed that it was over a quarter a mile for each lap (it looked bigger than a high-school track). Our legs welcomed that movement after sitting for so long, and it warmed us up! (Obviously, we are not huge sports fans and didn’t mind missing part of the game).

Just note that the ushers won’t let you back in until a break in the action, which was fine with us. She wasso nice about it, even commenting on how much sheliked how my date was dressed.

9. Exit early

As you can imagine, it’s a bit of a cattle call when exiting. If you hate crowds, you might want to leave a bit early or plan on staying afterward.We left when everyone else did and, although it was crowded, the escalators got us down reasonably quickly considering how many people there were.

This is where our decision to take the Metro helped us again. We simply walked the block-and-a-half to the train station, instead of being stuck in the post-game traffic jam in the parking lot.

10. Enjoy the rest of downtown LA afterward

You can check out LA Live or walk to some of the other great attractions in Downtown LA.

Conclusion

The Staples Center is nicer than most sporting venues I’ve been to in terms of cleanliness, atmosphere, view, food, and friendliness of the staff. It is a great place to see a sporting event, even if you are not a die-hard sports fan. It is located next to L.A. Live, so you can have dinner (or even go ice skating during the winter!) before the game or concert. And, there are plenty of other attractions in Downtown L.A.!