The Great Western Forum may have had more of an allure, but the Staples Center is where Los Angeles began their Stanley Cup collection. After some shaky rebuilding years, the Kings have transformed their home rink into a worthy palace.
Los Angeles Kings Stadium
A few years removed from the Gretzky era, the Kings left The Forum in Inglewood to share the newly built Staples Center with the Lakers and Clippers. It took a period of rebuilding for Los Angeles' pro hockey club to find its groove and when they did multiple Stanley Cups were part of the package. After a period of seeing zero Cups in their teams franchise history, the Staples Center played host to hockey's holy grail being held aloft in 2012 and 2014. Anze Kopitar, Jonathan Quick and Drew Doughty continue to spend half their NHL season playing their trade at the Staples Center.
The Kings fell on their faces in 2014-15. The team seemed incapable of shaking off their Stanley Cup hangover, but they were an absolute beast at home. Los Angeles failed to make the playoffs, yet somehow emerged with the best home record in the Pacific Division. The flipside of that strong showing at the Staples Center is the knowledge the Kings had an ugly 15-18-8 road total outside of L.A. Crowds have gone wild for the Kings in their renaissance years. Attendance has been between 99.8% and 107.6% in the past five seasons. By the way, goals at the Staples Center are punctuated with a combo of Randy Newman's "I Love L.A." and Fred Coury's "Power Ride."
Arena Vitals
Date Opened: 1999
Construction Cost: $375 Million
Architect: NBBJ
Capacity Attendance: 18,230
Has A Stanley Cup Final Been Played There: Yes
Previous Los Angeles Kings Arenas
Great Western Forum
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